THE  UBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


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ENDOWED  BY  THE 

DIALECTIC  AND  PHILANTHROPIC 

SOCIETIES 


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Publications 


American    Economic    Association 


Vol.  XI.    Nos.  I,  2  and  3.  Pages  1-329. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies 


American  Negro 


FREDERICK  L.  HOFFMAN,  F.S.S. 

Statistician  to  the  Prudential  Insurance  Company  of  America 


AUGUST,  1896. 


PUBLISHED  FOR  THE 

American  Economic  Association 
BY  The  Macmillan  Company 

NEW   YORK 

LONDON  :   SWAN    SONNENSCHEIN    &   CO. 


Copyright  1896  by 
American  Economic  Association 


Andrus  &  Church, 
ithaca,  n,  y. 


THE  RACE  TRAITS 


AND 


TENDENCIES  of  the  AMERICAN  NEGRO 


PREFACE. 

About  ten  years  ago  I  began,  for  my  own  information, 
the  collection  of  vital  and  social  statistics  of  the  colored 
population  of  this  country.  The  first  results  of  these  in- 
vestigations were  published  in  the  Arena  in  April, 
1892  ;  a  second  contribution  was  published  in  the  Medi- 
cal News  in  September,  1894,  and  a  third,  dealing  with 
the  Negro  in  the  West  Indies,  appeared  in  the  Publica- 
tions of  the  American  Statistical  Association^  in  1895. 
The  large  body  of  facts  accumulated  has  made  a  more 
elaborate  treatment  seem  feasible  and  the  final  result  is 
the  present  work. 

At  the  commencement  of  my  investigation,  especially 
in  regard  to  longevity  and  physiological  peculiarities 
among  the  colored  population,  I  was  confronted  with 
the  absence  of  any  extensive  collection  of  data  free 
from  the  taint  of  prejudice  or  sentimentality.  Being  of 
foreign  birth,  a  German,  I  was  fortunately  free  from  a 
personal  bias  which  might  have  made  an  impartial  treat- 
ment of  the  subject  difficult.  By  making  exclusive  use 
of  the  statistical  method  and  giving  in  every  instance  a 
concise  tabular  statement  of  the  facts,  I  believe  that  I 
have  made  it  entirely  possible  for  my  readers  to  arrive 
at  their  own  conclusions,  irrespective  of  the  deductions 
that  I  have  made. 

During  the  course  of  my  inquiry  it  became  more  and 
more  apparent  that  there  lie  at  the  root  of  all  social  diffi- 
culties or  problems,  racial  traits  and  tendencies  which 
make  for  good  or  ill  in  the  fate  of  nations  as  well  as  of 
individuals.  It  became  more  apparent  as  the  work  pro- 
gressed, that,  in  the  great  attempts  at  world  bettering,  at 
the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  lower  races  by 
those  of  a  hiofher  degfree  of  culture  and   economic  well 


vi  Preface. 

being,  racial  traits  and  tendencies  have  been  almost  en- 
tirely ignored.  Hence  a  vast  sum  of  evil  consequences 
is  met  as  the  natural  result  of  misapplied  energy  and 
misdirected  human  effort. 

The  need  therefore,  of  a  presentation  of  the  facts  as 
they  pertain  to  racial  differences  between  the  white  and 
colored  populations  of  this  country,  and  the  consequent 
differences  in  the  tendencies  of  the  two  races,  seemed 
sufficiently  clear  to  demand  that  publicity  should  be 
given  to  such  facts  as  I  had  been  able  to  collect ;  and 
while  I  have  ventured  at  times  to  add  my  own  deduc- 
tions, or  interpretation  of  their  meaning,  such  deduc- 
tions or  interpretations  are  subject  to  the  reader's  own 
verification  in  view  of  the  facts  themselves. 

The  close  relation  of  social  and  moral  phenomena  to" 
economics,  is,  I  believe,  fully  demonstrated  by  the  results 
of  this  work.  The  absolute  need  of  a  more  searching 
investigation  of  the  underlying  principles  of  human  pro- 
gress or  retrogression,  becomes  more  than  ever  apparent. 
In  the  words  of  Mr.  Bryce :  '/'But  for  one  difficulty  the 
South  might  well  be  thought  to  be  the  most  promising 
part  of  the  Union,  that  part  whose  advance  is  likely  to  be 
swiftest,  and  whose  prosperity  will  not  be  least  secure. 
This  difficulty,  however,  is  a  serious  one.  It  lies  in  the 
presence  of  seven  million  negroes." 

If  this  be  true,  it  behooves  the  general  government  as 
well  as  the  governments  of  the  several  states,  to  institute 
annually  such  inquiries  in  regard  to  the  material  and 
social  condition  of  the  colored  race  as  will  demonstrate 
beyond  a  doubt  the  existence  of  vital  factors  affecting  its 
progress  or  retrogression.  Such  inquiries  would  be  free 
from  the  sectional  prejudice  or  sentimental  regard  of  those 
who  are  now  arrayed  on  either  side  of  the  "  race  question." 

If  such  an  investigation  were  undertaken  by  the  De- 
partment of  Labor,  it  w^ould  lead  to  very  beneficial  re- 


Preface.  vii 

suits  by  furnishing  a  basis  for  definite  conclusions  as  to 
the  results  of  philanthropic  and  charitable  efforts  in  be- 
half of  the  colored  race.  In  the  absence  of  this  much 
needed  government  investigation,  the  present  inquiry 
may  serve  a  useful  purpose  in  stimulating  others  to 
special  inquiry  along  the  many  lines  indicated. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  work,  extending  over  so 
many  years,  I  have  been  materially  aided  by  so  many 
public  and  private  individuals  in  all  parts  of  this  country 
and  the  West  Indies,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  make 
a  proper  acknowledgement  of  my  obligations  in  each  in- 
dividual case.  To  all  those  who  have  so  kindly  aided 
me  with  advice  or  documentary  evidence,  I  extend  my 
most  sincere  thanks,  and  trust  that  the  results  of  the  in- 
vestigation will  prove  a  compensation  for  the  personal 
inconvenience  I  may  have  caused  them. 

I  am,  however,  especially  indebted  for  advice  and  in- 
formation to  Mr.  Carroll  D.  Wright,  the  Commissioner 
of  Labor,  Dr.  John  S.  Billings,  U.  S.  A.,  Dr.  S.  W- 
Abbott,  secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  state  board  of 
health.  Dr.  Arthur  Newsholme,  Brighton,  England, 
M.  Charles  Letourneau,  secretary  of  the  Anthropological 
Society  of  Paris,  Mr.  S.  P.  Smeeton,  the  registrar- 
general  of  Jamaica,  Mr.  Archibald  Allison,  the  colonial 
secretary  of  Bermuda,  Dr.  D.  T.  Rogers  of  Mobile, 
Ala.,  Dr.  H.  B.  Horlbeck  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  Dr. 
Gordon  De  Sassure,  of  the  same  city.  Dr.  Jerome  Coch- 
rane, of  Montgomery,  Ala.,  and  Emmons  Clark,  Esq., 
secretary  of  the  New  York  board  of  health. 

I  am  indebted  to  Professor  W.  F.  Willcox  for  most  val- 
uable assistance  in  the  prosecution  of  the  investigation 
and  final  publication  of  the  results  ;  also  to  the  publica- 
tion committee  of  the  American  Economic  Association, 
but  especially  to  Mr.  F.  S.  Kinder  of  Cornell  University, 
for  considerable  and  valuable  assistance  in  the  reading  of 


viii  Preface. 

the  manuscript  and  proofs  for  final  publication.  To  the 
librarian  of  the  Public  Library  of  Newark  I  am  under 
obligations  for  exceptional  privileges  afforded  in  the  use 
of  a  valuable  collection  of  transactions  of  scientific  socie- 
ties, as  well  as  of  other  valuable  publications  not  easily 
obtainable.  Most  of  all  am  I  indebted  to  my  wife  for  her 
kindly  and  sympathetic  assistance  and  many  personal 
sacrifices  during  the  early  years  of  my  labors.  Without 
her  encouragement  and  never  failing  sympathy,  the  com- 
pletion of  this  work  would  not  have  been  possible  in  a 
business  life  where  only  spare  hours  could  be  devoted  to 
an  investigation  of  this  nature. 

In  an  investigation  extending  over  so  many  years, 
and  involving  so  large  a  number  of  calculations  and  sta- 
tistical quotations,  errors  are  almost  unavoidable.  But 
having  taken  every  precaution  to  insure  absolute  accu- 
racy, I  feel  confident  that  no  error  sufficient  to  affect  the 
conclusions  has  occurred.  If  the  work  accomplishes  its 
purpose  and  leads  to  a  more  searching  investigation  into 
the  underlying  causes  of  race  progress  or  retrogression  ; 
if  it  leads  to  more  scientific  attention  to  the  relations 
between  the  superior  and  inferior  races,  as  contrasted 
with  the  present  dangerous  method  of  guess  work,  it 
will  not  have  been  written  in  vain.  For  after  all  it  is 
a  question  of  living  beings  and  not  of  theories  ;  and  no 
philanthropy  or  charity  that  in  all  its  missionary  efforts 
has  not  been  able  to  save  the  living  man^  has  any  claim 
to  be  called  successful.  Race  deterioration  once  in  pro- 
gress is  very  difficult  to  check,  and  races  once  on  the 
downward  grade,  thus  far  at  least  in  human  histor)-,  have 
invariably  become  useless  if  not  dangerous  factors  in 
the  social  as  well  as  political  economy  of  nations. 

Frederick  L.  Hoffman. 
j6i  Broad  Street.,  Newark.,  N.  /., 
July  28,  i8p6. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PREFACE, 


CHAPTER  I.     PopuivATioN, 


Growth  of  Colored  Population  in  the  Country  at  Large— In 
Different  Sections  of  the  Country— Increase  in  the  Cities  as 
Compared  with  Rural  Districts — Concentration  in  Sections  of 
Cities— Migration  from  Rural  to  Urban  Districts— Concentra- 
tion in  Rural  Districts— Inter-State  Migration— Colonization  . 
— Summary. 

CHAPTER  II.     ViTAi.   STATISTICS, 33 

Statistics  of  Births  and  Deaths  in  Four  States — In  Selected 
Cities — Rates  of  Mortality  According  to  Age  and  Sex — Accord- 
ing to  Conjugal  Condition— According  to  Altitude.— Before 
and  since  Emancipation — Expectation  of  Life  for  White  and  ' 
Colored — Causes  of  Mortality— Neglect  of  Children — Infant 
Mortality — Consumption— Pneumonia — Venereal  Diseases — 
Malarial  and  Typhoid  Fevers— Yellow  Fever— Small  Pox — 
Measles— Scarlet  Fever— Diphtheria — Croup — Childbirth  and 
Puerperal  Fevers — Tumors  and  Cancers — Appendicitis — Alco- 
holism— Insanity  and  Lunacy — Suicide — Summary. 


"CHAPTER  III.     Anthropometry, 


■J*C> 


Relation  of  Weight  to  Age  and  Stature — Lung  Capacity 
and  Mobility  of  Chest — Respiration — Physical  Strength — 
Vision — Summary. 

—  CHAPTER  IV.    Race  Amalgamation, 177 

V      "^^ 

Theories  Regarding  Race  Crossing— The  Mulatto— Race 
Amalgamation  advocated  in  U.  S. — Law  of  Similarity — 
Mixed  Marriages  in  U.  S. — Illicit  Relations  and  Illegitimacy. 


X  Table  of  ConteJits. 

CHAPTER  V.     Social  Conditions  and  Tendkncies,   .   .   .   .  jo^ 

Development  of  Religious  Institutions — Education — Crime 
— Vice  and  Immorality — Pauperism  and  Dependency. 

CHAPTER  VI.    Economic  Condition  and  Tendenciks,  .   .   .    250 

Efficiency  of  the  Negro  as  an  Agricultural  Laborer — In  the 
Cultivation  of  Tobacco— Rice— Cotton — Wages  of  White  and 
Colored  Labor — Ownership  of  Land— Supervision  of  Negro 
Laborers — The  Negro  as  an  Industrial  Factor — Representa- 
tion Among  Different  Occupations  before  the  War— Wages 
and  Efficiency— Effect  of  Education  on  Industrial  Efficiency 
— Conflicts  with  White  Labor— Colored  Labor  and  the  Cot- 
ton Mill -Representation  among  Different  Occupations  at 
present — Indians  as  Producers— Difficulty  in  obtaining  Em- 
ployment—Accumulation and  Taxation — Estimated  Wealth 
of  Negroes  in  U.  S. — "  Freedman's  Savings  and  Trust  Com- 
pany"— Assessed  Valuation  of  Property  in  Georgia — Virginia 
— North  Carolina — Taxes  paid  in  Virginia— School  Taxes  in 
North  Carolina— Cost  of  the  Negro  to  the  State— Summary. 

CHAPTER  VII.     Conclusion 310 


/ 


THE   RACE   TRAITS   AND   TENDENCIES   OF 
THE  AMERICAN  NEGRO. 

Chapter  I. 

POPULATION. 

The  progress  of  tlie  colored  population  in  the  United 
States,  and  more  particularly  in  the  southern  states, 
has  for  more  than  fifty  years  past  been  a  matter  of  the 
most  serious  concern  to  those  who  have  observed  the 
results  of  the  presence  of  a  large  and  growing  negro 
population.  The  natural  bond  of  sympathy  existing 
between  people  of  the  same  country,  no  matter  how 
widely  separated  by  language  and  nationality,  cannot  be 
proved  to  exist  between  the  white  and  colored  races  of 
the  United  States.  To-day,  after  thirty  years  of  free- 
dom for  the  negro  in  this  country,  and  sixty  years  in 
the  West  Indies,  the  two  races  are  farther  apart  than 
ever  in  their  political  and  social  relations.  To-day, 
more  than  ever,  the  colored  race  of  this  country  forms 
a  distinct  element  and  presents  more  than  at  any  time 
in  the  past  the  most  complicated  and  seemingly  hope- 
less problem  among  those  confronting  the  American 
people. 

It  is  therefore  a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance  that 
the  true  condition  of  this  population  should  be  fully 
understood  in  all  its  intricate  details,  to  eliminate  every 
possible  doubt  as  to  the  seriousness  and  importance  of 
the  problem  to  the  people  of  the  southern  states  as  well  as 
the  larger  cities  of  the  North  and  West.     In  the  endless 


2  American  Economic  Association. 

discussions  that  have  been  carried  on  for  years  past  as 
to  the  condition  and  future  of  the  colored  people,  the 
fact  that  there  is  a  northern  side  to  the  question  has  never 
been  fully  taken  into  account.  Only  by  means  of  a  thor- 
ough analysis  of  all  the  data  that  make  up  the  history  of 
the  colored  race  in  this  country  can  the  true  nature  of  the 
so-called  '  negro  problem'  be  understood  and  the  results 
of  past  experience  be  applied  safely  to  the  solution  of 
the  difficulties  that  now  confront  this  country  in  dealing 
with  the  colored  element. 

The  most  threatening  danger,  numerical  supremacy, 
may  be  considered  as  having  passed  away,  if  indeed  it 
ever  existed  in  fact.  Leaving  aside  the  results  of  the 
eleventh  census,  which  clearly  proved  a  smaller  increase 
in  the  colored  population  than  in  the  native  white,  the  ma- 
terial is  abundant  and  will  be  fully  presented  in  this  mon- 
ograph, to  prove  that,  independent  of  the  census  returns, 
the  gradual  decrease  in  the  decennial  growth  of  the 
colored  population  can  be  fully  explained. 

During  the  past  decade,  however,  according  to  the 
census  returns,  the  increase  in  the  colored  population  of 
the  southern  states  has  been  so  much  less  than  that  of 
the  wdiite  race,  and  so  much  less  than  the  believers  in 
Professor  Gilliam's  prediction  had  cause  to  expect,  that 
the  accuracy  of  the  census  has  been  disputed  by  many, 
even  though  they  had  no  means  whatever  at  their  com- 
mand of  proving  the  truth  of  their  charges.  Since 
many  of  the  tables  and  calculations  in  this  paper  are 
necessarily  based  on  the  eleventh  census  it  may  not  be 
out  of  place  for  me  to  state  that  after  the  most  careful 
analysis  of  the  results  in  this  and  many  other  investiga- 
tions I  am  convinced  that  the  eleventh  census  was  as 
carefully  taken  as  any  one  of  the  ten  preceding  enumera- 
tions.   This  conviction  is  based  principally  on  a  study 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.       3 

of  the  age  distribution  of  the  population,  which  is 
probably  the  most  delicate  test  applicable  to  census  work. 
During  the  ten  years,  1 880-1 890,  the  colored  popula- 
tion of  the  southern  states  increased  only  13.24  per 
cent,  in  contrast  with  an  increase  of  23.91  per  cent,  for 
the  white  population  of  the  same  section.  The  total 
white  population  of  the  country  at  large  increased 
26.68  per  cent,  and  the  total  colored  population  13.51 
per  cent,  during  the  same  period.  This  result,  therefore, 
disproves  Professor  Gilliam's  prediction  that  the  increase 
of  the  colored  population  would  be  35  per  cent  per 
decade,  and  makes  impossible  the  realization  of  the 
further  prediction,  which  has  been  so  widely  copied,,  that 
in  seventy  or  eighty  years  tlie  blacks  will  largely  predom- 
inate in  every  southern  state.  Professor  Gilliam,  as  so 
many  other  writers  on  this  subject  have  done,  relied  in 
his  calculations  on  only  one  element  of  the  natural  in- 
crement of  a  population,  namely,  the  birth  rate ;  he 
ignored  the  far  more  important  influence  o£  the  death 
rate.  To  what  absurdities  such  calculations  may  be 
carried  is  perhaps  best  illustrated  by  the  following  table 


COMPARATIVE  ESTIMATES  OF  THE  PROBABLE  COLORED  POPULATION 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


j 

United  States 
\        Census. 

Estimate  of     Estimate  of 
Darby.i             De  Bow.2 

Estimate  of 
Kennedy.3 

Estimate  of 
Prof.  Gilliam.-* 

1830 
1840 
1850 

2,328,642 
2,873.648 
3.638,808 
4,441,830 
4.880,009 

6,580,793 
7,470,040 
8.458.952' 

2  8q^  1\\ 

1             .... 

A   I  Itl  70Q 

i860 

7,860,  n8  [  4,319,452 
10,669,236     5,296,235 
14,329,701      6,494,334 
19,208,740  j  7,962,004 
25.825,878  1  9.766,884 

1870 
1880 
1890 
1900 

5.407,130 
6,591,292 
7,909,550 
9.491.459 



12,000,000 

1  "  Vie-n 

of  the  United 

states."    (Philadelphia,  1828 

).    Pages  438- 

40. 

2  "  South  and  West,"  Vol.  II,  page  305. 

3  Preliminary  report  on  the  eighth  census, page  7. 

*  "Popular  Science  Monthly,"  Vol.  XXII,  page  437.     (For  the  Southern  States 
only). 
5  Estimated  by  the  writer. 


4  American  Econo^nic  Association. 

of  comparative  estimates,  by  a  number  of  writers,  of  the 
colored  population  in  the  United  States  at  different 
periods  of  time. 

Of  the  various  estimates  here  brought  together,  those 
of  DeBow  and  Kennedy  come  nearest  being  approxi- 
mately correct,  while  those  of  Darby  and  Gilliam  are  far 
out  of  the  way.     Darby  made  no  allowance  for  a  possible 
increase  in  the  death  rate,  nor  could  he  foresee  the  eman- 
cipation   of   the   slaves   in    1863.       Both    De  Bow  and 
Kennedy  were  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  vital  statis- 
tics of  the  negro,  and  so  made  allowance  for  a  probable 
gain  of  the  death  rate  on  the  birth  rate,  as  well  as  for  a 
probable  decrease  in  the  latter.     Professor  Gilliam,  who 
had  at  his  command  the  mortality  statistics  of  southern 
cities — especially  of  Savannah,  Charleston,  Mobile,  New 
Orleans  and  Richmond — could  easily  have  ascertained 
the  element  of  error  that  vitiated  his  elaborate  calcula- 
tions.      His  assumption    that    the   colored    population 
w^ould  for  years  to  come  increase  at  the  rate  of  3.5  per 
cent,  per  annum  was  justified  neither  by  past  experience 
nor  by  the  returns  o\  the  census  of   1880.     The  census 
of  1870  was  admittedly  defective  and  this  consideration 
should  have  prevented  him  from  using  the  rate  of  in- 
crease in  this  decade  as  a  formula  for  calculating  the 
colored  population  for  the  next  century.     As  has  been 
stated,  the  rate  of  increase  during  the  decade  1880-90 
was  considerably  less  for  the  colored  population  than  for 
the  whites ;    whereas   Professor  Gilliam   estimated  the 
probable  annual  gain  of  the  southern  white  population 
at  only  .tSvo  per  cent.,  in  contrast  with  an  assumed  gain 
of  3.5  per  cent,  per  annum  for  the  colored  population. 
Thus   he  estimated  a  probable  colored   population   for 
1900  of  twelve  millions:  in  all  probability  it  will  not 
reach  seven  and  a  half  millions.     According  to  Professor 


Race  Traits  and  Tcndcnn'es  of  the  American  Negro. 


5 


Gilliam's  method  of  calculating,  the  population  in  1890 
should  have  been  slightly  in  excess  of  nine  millions, 
while  the  census  showed  only  6,741,941  in  those  states. 

estimate;  of  the  colored  population  of  southern  states, 

1SS0-1900. 

Prof.  Gillian's  Result  of  the 

Estimate.  Cen.sus. 

1S80 6,000,000 5,953,903 

1890 9,039,470'  .....  6.741,941 

1900 12,000,000 7,634,450' 

1  Calculated  by  the  writer  in  accordance  with  Prof.  Gilliam's  method. 
•  Calculated  by  the  writer  in  accordance  with  the  method  of  Dr.  Farr. 

These  examples  illustrate  the  uselessness  of  attempts 
to  arrive  at  accurate  results  on  the  basis  of  enumerations 
which  do  not  show  the  underlying  elements  of  the  popu- 
lation or  affard  the  means  of  stating  the  probable  ten- 
dency of  a  population  for  a  long  period  of  years.  Rea- 
soning from  gross  results  in  this  as  in  other  branches  of 
statistical  inquiry  must  be  useless  and  misleading. 

I  have  gone  into  considerable  detail  in  my  account  of 
the  elements  of  the  colored  population  in  order  that 
those  who  have  neither  time  nor  opportunity  to  consult 
the  original  reports  may  know  the  sources  of  the  in- 
formation and  the  basis  of  the  tables  which  are  intro- 
duced in  other  parts  of  this  work.  Only  after  a 
comprehensive  study  of  the  intricate  details  of  these 
elements  can  the  nature  of  the  problem  as  to  the  future 
of  the  negro  and  his  relation  to  the  white  race  in  this 
country  be  understood. 

The  table  which  follows  shows,  for  periods  of  thirty 
years  each,  the  progress  of  the  colored  and  white  popu- 
lations in  the  country  at  large  during  the  present  century. 
I  have  selected  this  method  because  there  is  no  apparent 
n^d  of  giving  the  results  of  all  of  the  eleven  enumera- 
tions of  the  population,  and  also  because  the  use  of  tlie 
defective  census  of  1870  is  thereby  avoided. 


American  Economic  Association. 


POPULATION  OF  THE  UNITKD  STATES,  1800  to  1890. 

White  Colored  Per  ct.  of 

Population.  Population.'  White. 

1800 4,306,446.    .    .    .  1,002,037.    .    .  .Si. 12.  . 

1830 10,537,378.     .     .     .  2,328,642.     .     .  .81.90.  . 

i860 26,922.537  ....  4,441,830       .     .  .  85.62  .  . 

1890 54,983,890  ....  7,470,040  ....  87.80  .  . 


Per  ct.  of 
Colored. 

.   18.88 

.     .   18.10 

.     .  14.13 

•    •  11-9.^ 


'  Previous  to  i860,  Chinese  and  Indians  were  counted  as  colored  ;  for  1S60  and 
1890  these  are  excluded. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  proportion  of  whites  in  the 
total  population  has  gradually  increased  from  81.12  per 
cent,  in  1800,  to  87.80  per  cent,  in  1890.  This  increase 
in  the  proportion  of  whites  is  to  a  considerable  extent 
due  to  the  large  immigration  in  the  past  fifty  years. 
The  southern  states,  however,  have  been  affected  but 
ver>'  slightly  by  foreign  immigration.  The  table  which 
follows  shows  that  the  proportion  of  the  colored  to  the 
white  population  has  increased  in  some  states  and  de- 
creased in  others  during  the  past  sixty  years.  During 
the  period  1 860-1 890  the  proportion  of  whites  increased 
in  seven  out  of  the  thirteen  southern  states.  During  the 
last  census  period  the  proportion  of  colored  to  whites  in- 
creased in  only  two  of  these  thirteen  states — Mississippi 
and  Arkansas  ;  all  the  other  states  show  a  considerable 
decrease. 

PERCENTAGE  OF  NEGROESi  IN  TOTAL  POPULATION— 1830-1890. 

PRINCIPAL   SOUTHERN    STATES. 


Maryland 

District  of  Columbia, 

Virginia, 

North  Carolina,  .  .    . 
South  Carolina,  .  .    . 

Georgia, 

Florida 

Kentuck}', 

Tennessee, 

Alabama 

Mississippi, 

Louisiana, 

Texas, 

Arkansas 


20.69 
32.80 
38.37 
3467 
5985 
46.74 
42.46 
14.42 
24-37 
44.«4 
57.58 
49-99 
21.84 
27.40 


1S60 


24.91 
1907 

34.39 
36.4a 

58.59 
44.05 
44.63 
20.44 
2550 
45.40 
55.28 

49.49 
30.27 

25.55 


1830 


34.88 
30.81 
42.69 
35-93 
5563 
42.57 
47.06 
24-73 
21-43 
38.48 
48-44 
58.54i 

15.52 


1  Persons  of  African  descent  only. 


Race  Traits  and  Tcndeyides  of  the  American  Negro.       7 

That  this  condition  is  not  due  to  any  decided  tendency 
on  the  part  of  the  colored  population  to  migrate  to 
northern  states  is  clearly  borne  out  by  a  careful  study  of 
the  census  returns.  The  most  satisfactory  method  of 
arriving  at  a  definite  result  is  probably  a  comparison  of 
the  native  resident  populations — that  is  of  the  numbers 
of  those  living  in  the  states  in  which  they  were  born. 
In  this  comparison  only  the  native  whites  are  taken  into 
account  and  compared  with  the  native  colored.  I  have 
abstracted  from  the  census  volume  the  returns  for  five 
representative  southern  states,  and  calculated  from  the 
actual  returns  the  proportionate  increase  in  the  native 
white  and  native  colored  elements.  For  purposes  of 
comparison  the  percentages  which  the  population  so  de- 
fined makes  of  the  total  white  and  the  total  colored  popu- 
lation, respectively,  are  also  given. 

POPULATION  BORN  AND  LIVING  IN  STATE.* 


i8go       I       18S0  Increase 

Native         Native 
Whites.      Whites. 


South  Carolina,  .  '  435.594  363.576 

Georgia j  873,234  717,276 

Alabama,  ....  660,848  506.917 

Mississippi,  .    .  440,670  353.247 

Louisiana,  ....  444,230  341,974 


72,018 
155.958 
153.93' 

87.423 
102,256 


Per  ct.  of 
increase 

iSSo-90. 


Percentage  of 
total  White 
Population. 

l8qo.        iSSo. 


19-81    95-55  94-77 

21.74'  90-35  88.93 

30.371  80.68  77-67 

24.75    82.04  75.09 

29.90   87.18  85.03 


COLORED. 


South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  .  .  . 
Alabama,  .  .  . 
Mississippi,  .  . 
Louisiana,     .    . 


»,  ,.        I  »-  ,-        i  ,  Per  ct.  of  Percentage  of 

Native  Native  Increase  j^^ease  total  Colored 

Colored  Colored.                                                  Ponnintion 

1S90.       I  iSSo.      ;  188<V90.          1880-90.         ^?P"^^'7sSo. 


677,175  588,819 

798,747  677,938 

607,058  507,716 

622.996  509,938 

478,655  386,348! 


88,356 
120,809 

99.342 
113.058 

92,3071 


15.01  98.28  97.45 

17.S2  93.01  93.50 

19-57  89.39  84.60 

22.17I  83.68  78.21 

23-89  85.58  79-89 


1  Census  of  1890,  Vol.  i,  Population,  pp.  CVX. 


8  American  Economic  Association. 

PERCENTAGE  OF  DECENNIAL  INCREASE  IN  THE   RESIDENT   NATIVE 
POPULATION  OF  FIVE  SOUTHERN  STATES. 


Native 
White. 

Native 
Colored. 

White  over 
Colored. 

vSouth  Carolina,  . 

.    .     I9.S1     .    . 

.    .     15.01     .    . 

.    .       4.80 

Georgia,    .... 

.    .     21.74     •    • 

.    .     17.82     .    . 

•    •       392 

Alabama ■ 

■     .     SO.37     .     • 

•    .     1957     •    • 

.    .     10.80 

Mississippi,  .    .    . 

.    .     24.75     .    • 

.     .     22.17     .    . 

.    .       2.5S 

Louisiana,    .    .    . 

.    .     29.90     .    . 

.    .     23.89     .    . 

.    .       6.01 

These  tables  prove  conclusively  the  steady  gain  of  the 
native  white  on  the  native  colored  population,  and  the 
larger  natural  increase — excess  of  births  over  deaths — 
in  the  white  population.  This  is  most  marked  in  Ala- 
bama, and  least  so  in  ISIississippi.  But  it  is  remarkable 
that  the  latter  state  should  show  even  the  slight  excess 
in  favor  of  the  white  race  that  it  does,  since  the  increase  in 
the  total  colored  population  has  been  greater  than  the 
increase  of  the  white  race,  owing  to  a  considerable 
migration  of  colored  people  from  other  states  to  the  low- 
lands of  the  Mississippi.  The  small  increase  in  the 
colored  population  of  Alabama  is  to  a  great  extent  due 
to  the  drifting  of  the  negroes  into  the  large  cities  which 
have  grown  up  in  that  state  during  the  past  decade,  in 
which  the  mortality  among  the  colored  is  higher  than 
that  recorded  for  any  other  American  cities  at  the  pres- 
ent time. 

The  tendency  of  the  colored  population  to  leave  the 
country  and  congregate  in  the  large  cities  either  of  the 
South  or  North,  is  one  of  the  most  distinct  phenomena 
of  the  past  thirty  years.  Immediately  previous  to  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  the  colored  population  of  the  larger 
southern  cities  formed  but  a  small  proportion  of  the 
aggregate  population  of  these  cities.  If,  for  purposes  of 
illustration,  we  take  the  fourteen  largest  cities  of  ten 
southern  states  we  shall  find  that  in  i860  only  18.85  P^^ 
cent,  of  the  population  of  these  cities  was  colored,  as 


Race  Traits  ^nd  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.      g 

compared  with  36  per  cent,  of  the  colored  in  the  total 
population  at  large  of  the  ten  states.  In  1890  the  states 
under  consideration  contained  sixteen  large  cities  with 
29.08  per  cent,  of  colored  population,  while  in  the  total 
population  of  these  states  the  proportion  of  colored  was 
nearly  the  same  as  in  i860,  or  35.96  per  cent."  The  next 
three  tables  give,  first,  the  aggregate  and  the  colored 
population  of  ten  southern  states  at  the  censuses  of  i860 
and  1890,  together  with  the  proportion  of  the  colored  in 
the  total  population ;  second,  the  same  information  for 
fourteen  cities  in  i860,  and  for  sixteen  in  1890;  third, 
the  increase  in  the  white  and  the  colored  population  dur- 
ing the  thirty  years  1860-90  for  the  states,  the  cities 
named,  and  the  states  excluding  the  cities.  The  last  may 
be  considered  for  the  present  purpose  as  rural,  although 
many  cities  of  considerable  population  are  included. 


PROPORTIOX  OF  THE  COI,ORED  IN  THE   TOTAI,  POPULATION  OF  TEN 
SOUTHERN  STATES.— 1860  AND  1890. 


Total 

Population, 

1890. 

PcS:^^n.b?^-p^n, 

Colored 
Population. 

Per  ct. 
Color'  d 

Delaware 
Maryland. 
Dist.ofCol. 
Virginia    . 
S.  Carolina 
Georgia  .  . 
Kentucky. 
Tennessee. 
Alabama  . 
Louisiana. 

168,493 
1,042,390 

230,392 
1.655.980 
1. 15', 149 
1,837,353 
1.858,635 
I. 767.518 
1,513.017 
1,118,587 

28,386    . 

215,657!  • 

75.572,  . 

6ii:^^4i : 

858,8151 . 
268,071! . 
430,678  . 
678,489  . 
559,193  • 

112,216 

687,049 

75,080 

1,596,318 

703,708 

1,057,286 

1,155,684 

1,109,801 

964,201 

708,002 

21,627 
171,131 

14,316 
548,907 
412,320 
465.698 
236,167 
283,019 
437,770 
350,373 

■    • 

10  S.  States 

12,343,514 

4,439.233   35-96 

8,169,345 

2,941,328 

36.00 

American  Economic  Association. 


PROPORTION  OF  THE   COLORED  IN    THE  TOTAL  POPULATION  OF  SIX- 
TEEN SOUTHERN  CITIES,  i860  AND  1890. 


Wiliiiiiigtoii,  Del.  . 
Baltimore,  Md.  .  . 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Norfolk,  Va.  .  .  . 
Riclinioncl,  Va.  .  . 
Charleston,  S.  C.  . 
Atlanta.  Ga.  .  .  . 
Augusta,  Ga.  .  .  . 
Savannah,  Ga.  .  . 
Louisville,  Ky.  .  . 
Chattanooga,  Tenn, 
Memphis,  " 

Nashville,  " 

Birmingham,  Ala  . 
Mobile,  Ala.  .  .  . 
New  Orleans,  La.  . 

16  Southern  Cities. 


Population  Popular  n  ^,qJjjj.,jJ 


Populat'n  Populaf  u  cnVA 

1S60.      I      1S60.       ,^"'" 


61, 43' 
434.439 
230.392 
34. «7' 
81,38s 
54,955 
65.533 

33-300; 

43.1^9 
161,129 
29,100 
64.495 
76,168 
26,178 
3 '.076] 
242,039! 


7.644' 
67,1041 
75,572; 
16,244! 
32.330] 
30,970 
28,098, 

15.875 
22,9631 
28,651, 
12,563! 
28,706 
29.382 
11.254 
13.630 
64,491. 


21,258 
212,418 
75,080 
14,620 
37.910 
40,522 
9.554 
12.493 
22,292 
68.033 

22,62^ 
16,988 


1,669,683    485,4771    29.08^    751,724 


2.214 

27.898 

J4.3'6 

4,330 

14.275 

17.146 

1.939 

4049' 

8.4<7 

6,820 

'3.SS2 
3,945 


29,258        8,4041 
[68,675      24,0741 


141,709;  18.85 


INCREASE— WHITE  AND  COLORED  POPULATION  OF  TEN  SOUTHERN 
STATES,  1860-1S90. 


Population  of  Ten 
Southern  States. 


Population 
in  Large  Cities. 


Colored.       White.      Colored. 


Population  in  States 
Excluding  Cities. 


White.    I  Colored. 


i860    ....  '5,228,017  2,941,328     610,0x5!     141, 709'4,6l8,002;2, 799,619 

i  I  I  I  !  I 

1890      .  .  .  7,904,2814,439.2331,184,206    485,4776,720,0753,953,756 


Increase.   2,676,2641,497,905 


Increase 
per  ct. 


574,141:  343,7682,102,123  r, 154,137 


51.19    50.93 


94.1 


2.12.60    45.52    41.23 


The  summary  of  the  first  two  tables  is  given  in  the 
third,  in  which  also  the  white  population  is  given. 
As  shown  by  this  table  the  white  population  of 
the  ten  southern  states  increased  51.19  per  cent  dur- 
ing the  thirty  years  1860-90,  while  the  colored  popula- 
tion increased  at  almost  the  same  rate,  or  50.93  per 
cent.  Considering  the  population  of  the  cities  it  is 
shown  that  the  white  population  increased  94.11   per 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro,     ii 

cent.,  as  compared  with  an  increase  of  242.60  per  cent, 
for  the  colored  dnring  the  same  period.  This  phenom- 
enal increase  in  the  colored  population  of  southern  cities 
during  the  past  thirty  }'ears  is  perhaps  the  most  con- 
vincing evidence  of  the  changed  conditions  at  the  South, 
as  affecting  the  future  of  the  colored  population.  After 
all  that  has  been  said  on  the  modern  tendency  of  civil- 
ized peoples  to  leave  the  country  for  the  cities,  there  are 
probably  no  other  instances  of  such  wholesale  migration 
to  the  city  as  is  here  shown.  In  marked  contrast  with 
this  enormous  increase  in  urban  population  stands  the 
small  increase  in  the  colored  population  of  the  rural  sec- 
tions of  the  states  under  consideration,  a  rate  of  increase 
considerably  below  the  rate  shown  to  prevail  for  the 
white  race.  Since  89.07  per  cent,  of  the  colored  popu- 
lation of  these  ten  states  still  live  in  the  rural  sections  of 
the  country,  the  fact  that  the  rate  of  increase  there 
should  be  less  for  the  colored  than  for  the  white  race  is 
highly  significant.  If  we  compare  the  urban  with  the 
total  population  in  i860,  11.67  percent,  of  the  white  pop- 
ulation lived  in  the  large  cities,  increasing  during  thirty 
years  to  only  14.89  per  cent.  ;  in  contrast  with  an  in- 
crease from  4.82  per  cent,  of  colored  urban  population  in 
i860  to  10.93  P^'^  cent,  in  1890. 

PERCENTAGE  OF  WHITE  AND  COLORED  POPULATION  LIVING  IN  THE 
LARGE  CITIES  OF  TEN  SOUTHERN  STATES  IN  i860  AND  1S90. 


White. 

Colored. 

Population  of  Ten  States 
"     of  16  Large  Cities 

i860.                  1S90. 

5,228,017       7,904,281 
610,015       1,184,206 

i860.                  1890. 

2,941,328       4,439.233 
141,709          485,477 

Percentage     in     Large 
Cities 

11.67               14-89 

4.82               10.93 

12  American  Ecoyioinic  Association. 

During  the  last  decade  this  migratory  tendency  of  the 
colored  population  has  been  more  pronounced  than  ever, 
affecting  not  only  the  large  cities  but  also  those  of  pro- 
portionally small  colored  population.  I  have  grouped 
the  cities  into  two  classes,  those  with  a  colored  popula- 
tion in  1890  of  10,000  to  20,000,  and  those  with  more 
than  20,000.  The  per  cent,  of  increase  is  larger  for 
the  small  than  for  the  large  cities,  but  the  numerical  in- 
crease in  the  large  cities  was  more  than  twice  that  in 
the  other  group.  The  white  population  of  these  cities 
increased  at  a  lesser  rate  than  the  colored,  which  agrees 
with  the  results  of  the  comparison  made  in  preceding 
tables  for  the  period  1860-90. 

POPULATION  OF  THE  LARGK  CITIES.— 1S80-1890. 

I  White  Colored 

I  Population.  Population. 

1R90.  1880.     I     1890.  i.SSo. 

Washington,  D.  C 154,695  107. 7'4  75-572  52,135 

Baltimore,  Md 367,143  27.S,5S4  67,104  53,716 

New  Orleans,  La \    177,376  158,367  64,491  57,617 

Philadelphia,  Pa 1,006,590  815,362  39,371  31,699 

Richtnoud,  Va 49,034  35.765  32.330  27.832 

Charleston,  S^  C 23,919  22,699  30,970  27,276 

Nashville,  Tenn 1      46,773  27,005  29,382  16,337 

Memphis,  Tenn |      35,766  18,677  28,706  14.896 

Louisville,  Ky |    132,457  102,847  28,651  20,905 

Atlanta,  Ga I      37,416  21,079  28,098  16,330 

St.  Louis,  Mo 424,704  328,191  26,865  22.256 

New  York,  N.  Y 1,489,627  1,185,843  23,601  19.663 

Savannah,  Ga 20,211  15,041  22,963  15,654 

Total  Population 3965,711     3,117,174498,104    376,316 

Increase,  1890  over  1880.     ....         848,537   .    .    .       121,788 

Increase,  Per  Cent.    .    .    .  I  .    .     .    .  27.22     ...        32.36 


1; 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     13 

TEN  CITIES  WITH   FROM  10,000  to  20,000  COLORED  POPULATION  IN  1890. 

I  White 

Population. 


Chicago,  111 1,084,998  496,495 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y j    795,397  55«>427 

Cincinnati,  O 285,224  246,912 

Kansas  City,  Mo 118,821  47,613 

Norfolk,  Va I       18,617  11,898 

Augusta,  Ga I       17,395  ",771 

Mobile,  Ala i       17,429  16,885 

Chattanooga,  Tenn 16,525  7. 8*^7 

Houston.  Tex -       17,178  10,026 

Birmingham,  Ala 14,909  ....      11,254 

Total  Population 2,386,493  1,407,834  129,849 

{Increase,  1890  over  18S0  ...     .    .  978,659   .... 

Increase,  Per  Cent  .    .  .  .  j  .    .    .    .  69.51     .... 


Colored 

Population. 

1890. 

iSSo. 

14,271 

6,480 

10,287 

S,095 

11,655 

8,179 

13,700 

8,143 

16,244 

10,068 

15,875 

10,109 

13,630 

12,240 

12,563 

5,082 

10,370 

6,479 

These  two  tables  forcibly  illustrate  the  importance  of 
the  negro  problem  to  all  sections  of  the  country,  since 
the  tendency  here  shown  to  exist  must,  if  not  checked 
in  a  few  decades,  materially  increase  the  colored  popu- 
lation of  all  the  large  cities  of  the  country.  It  wilj  sur- 
prise many  to  be  told  that  Philadelphia  has  a  colored 
population  of  almost  forty  thousand  ;  this  number  being 
exceded  in  only  three  other  cities,  Washington,  Balti- 
more and  New  Orleans.  And  while  the  colored  element 
forms  a  far  more  important  factor  in  the  large  cities  of 
the  South  than  in  those  of  the  East  and  West,  still  it 
presents  in  the  latter  no  less  serious  problems,  but  of  a 
different  nature  and  more  complex  in  form.  For  in 
the  large  cities  of  the  South  the  colored  population  is 
fairly  well  distributed  over  the  whole  city,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Richmond,  where  the  larger  portion  of  it  is 
contained  in  a  single  ward.  In  the  cities  of  the  North 
and  West  the  negroes  are  crowded  into  a  \Qxy  few  wards. 
In  Richmond  the  negro  district  is  designated  "  Africa," 
and  it  may  be  truthfully  said  that  in  each  of  the  large 


14 


American  Economic  Association. 


cities  of  the  North  and  West  in  which  the  colored  peo- 
ple have  settled  in  sufficient  numbers,  one  may  find  an 
"  Africa"  of  the  Richmond  type.  The  two  tables  below 
show  for  six  cities  of  the  North  and  West  and  six  of 
the  South  the  distribution  of  the  colored  population  by 
wards  according  to  the  census  of  1890.  These  tables 
are  the  first,  I  believe,  to  present  with  a  considerable  de- 
gree of  accuracy  the  massing  of  the  colored  population 


DISTRIBUTION,    BY   WARDS,    OF    THE   COLORED    POPULATION    OF   SIX 
LARGE  NORTHERN  CITIES.     (Census  1890). 


, 

Boston. 

New  York 

Brooklvn. 

Phil'a. 

Cincinnati. 

Wards. 

Chicago. 

25  Wards. 

24  Wards. 

26  Wards. 

34  Wards. 

30  Wards. 

I  .    .    . 

1           3.381 

56 

124 

272 

794 

171 

2 

2.744 

24 

19 

70 

522 

1.759 

3 

2,997 

50 

17 

193 

861 

59 

4 

722 

143 

40 

494 

2.573 

487 

5 

401 

40 

61 

502 

2.335 

482 

6 

33 

55 

108 

84 

125 

1,286 

7 

3 

50 

9 

61. 

8,861 

21 

8 

4 

388 

687 

44 

3.01 1 

238 

9 
10 

16 

2,547 

1,126 

417 

497 

480 

73 

226 

76 

709 

798 

257 

II 

222 

1,099 

JO 

1,910 

II 

12 

12 

335 

123 

3,951 

338 

21 

13 

695 

47 

9 

94 

539 

2 

14 

41 

46 

130 

I 

1.379 

194 

15 

49 

23 

2,201 

60 

1,751 

242 

16 

14 

784 

2,188 

397 

104 

633 

17 

51 

622 

105 

13 

124 

782 

18 

610 

389 

434 

52 

II 

1,589 

19 

98 

777 

1.933 

589 

275 

589 

20 

127 

4,782 

799 

1,333 

590 

21- 

'    "   38 

45 

546 

228 

93 

162 

22 

88 

32 

4,275 

164 

1,798 

134 

23 

149 

200 

495 

214 

1,026 

185 

24 

306 

47 

275 

958 

930 

199 

25 

18 

185 

1,190 

260 

378 

26 

41 

.     .    .     . 

222 

1,375 

202 

27 
28 
29 
30 
31 

88 

.... 

2,077 

103 

53 
36 

644 

130 

. 

.     .    .     . 

1,476 

137 

479 

42 

218 

382 

131 

■ 

.     .    .     . 

32 

. 

.... 

.     . 

19 

190 

33 

. 

34 

207 

•     •    •     • 

"... 

1,073 

T 

ot 

il  . 

!          14,271 

8,125 

23,601 

10,287 

39.371         11,655 

Race  Traits  and  Teyidencies  of  the  American  Negro.     15 


DISTRIBUTION  BY  WARDS  OK  THI 

: COLORED 

POPULATK 

)N  OF  SIX 

LARGE  SOUTHERN  CITIES.-(Census  1890.) 

Charleston, 

Norfolk, 

Mobile, 

Atlanta,  Ga. 

Louisville, 

New  Orleans, 

Wards 

S.  C. 

Va. 

Ala. 

Ky. 

La. 

8  Wards. 

6  Wards. 

8  Wards. 

6  Wards. 

12  Wards. 

17  Wards. 

I 

I,5IS 

2,272 

1,891 

6,749 

1,087 

2,753 

2 

2,763 

1,526 

207 

3.233 

748 

3.270 

3 

3,ooS 

3,122 

61 

3.899 

1,777 

9.475 

4 

4,914 

8,617 

257 

6.390 

2,982 

3.555 

5 

4,187 

157 

1,124 

3.172 

3.664 

6,676 

6 

5.447 

550 

2,735 

4,655 

1,699 

3.740 

7 

3.332 

5.138 

876 

7.729 

8 

5,801 

2,217 

.     . 

2,663 

1,330 

9 

3,356 

2,664 

;? 

4.883 
3.789 

4,311 
5,260 

12 

1,127 

2,572 

13 

2,174 

14 

1,274 

15 

4.492 

16 

.    . 

1,982 

17 

_ 

1.234 

Total, 

30,970 

16,244 

13.630 

28,098 

28,651 

64.491 

of  northern  and  western  cities  into  a  few  wards — which 
as  a  rule  are  the  most  undesirable  sections  of  the  cities. 
With  the  data  given  it  will  be  easily  possible  for  the 
resident  of  any  one  of  the  cities  to  verify  the  writer's 
statements.  It  needs  to  be  observed  that  this  tendency 
is  much  more  manifest  in  the  North  than  in  the  South. 
It  may  be  that  the  distribution  of  the  colored  population 
in  the  southern  cities  appears  more  even  from  the  fact 
that  the  subdivisions  are  larger  than  in  the  northern  and 
western  cities. 

The  tendency  towards  concentration  is  more  distinctly 
presented  by  taking  the  total  of  the  colored  population 
of  a  few  wards  and  comparing  this  number  with  the 
white  population  of  the  same  wards.  If  we  take,  for 
instance,  Chicago,  we  shall  find  that  out  of  the  14,271 
colored  persons  living  in  that  city,  9,122  or  63.90  per 
cent,  were  living  in  three  wards,  which  contained  at  the 
same  time  only  6.3  per  cent,  of  the  total  white  popula- 


i6  American  Economic  Association. 

tion.  In  other  words,  these  three  wards  contained  al- 
most two-thirds  of  the  total  colored,  and  less  than  one- 
fourteenth  of  the  white,  population.  This  condition  is 
met  with  more  or  less  in  every  city  of  any  importance 
in  the  North  and  West.  In  the  case  of  the  six  cities, 
selected  for  the  purpose  of  illustration,  the  facts  are 
brought  out  clearly  in  the  table  below  : 

PERCENTAGE  OK. THE  WHITE  AND  COLORED  POPULATION  LIVING  IN 

THREE  WARDS  WITH  LARGEST  COLORED 

POPULATION.    (Census  1890). 

I       -rrr,.-^  Whitc    '    Pct-       r^ir>,»^      Colorcd       Pcr- 

!       White  populat'u  centage  p'-^,,,,^,^  Populatncentage 

Population,  in  Three  of  Tot'l  ^"PP^f*  "   in  Three  of  Toi'l 

1890.  Wards.      White.        '^^o-          Wards.     Color 'd 


Chicago   ....  1,084,998  68,408  6.30  14,271  9,122  63.90 

Boston I  439,887  47,862  10.88  8,125  4,430  54.52 

New  York.    ...!  1,489,627  469,751  31.53  23.601  13,008  55.11 

Brooklyn 795.397  79-958  10.05  10,287  4,058  39.44 

Philadelphia  .    .  1,006,590  52,909  5-26  39,37'  14,445  3669 

Cincinnati...    .  285,224  23,606  8.28  11,655  4,634  39.75 

Six  Cities..    .1    5,101.723'    742.494    i4-55i    io7.3io      49.897    46-49 

The  concentration  according  to  this  table  would  seem 
to  be  greatest  in  Chicago  and  least  in  Philadelphia,  while 
the  percentage  of  whites  living  in  the  three  wards  with 
largest  colored  population  is  least  in  Philadelphia  and 
greatest  in  New  York.  The  conclusion  would  seem  to 
be  warranted  that  the  most  unfavorable  conditions  for  the 
colored  population  as  indicated  by  the  disproportionate 
number  of  whites  in  the  same  localities  are  to  be  found 
in  Chicago  and  Philadelphia. 

How  far  this  is  true  for  the  former  city  is  demon- 
strated by  the  maps  attached  to  the  volume  of  "  Hull 
House  Maps  and  Papers,"  modeled  after  ■Mr.  Booth's 
great  work  on  the  "  Life  and  Labour  of  the  People  of 
London."  The  work,  which  seems  to  have  been  done  with 
exceptional  care,  was  under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Florence 
Kelley,   chief    factory   inspector    of    Illinois,    who   had 


Rare  Traits  and  Tcndoicics  of  the  American  Negro.     17 

charge  of  the  investigation  made  by  the  United  States 
Burean  of  Labor  of  the  shims  of  large  cities.  The  two 
maps  attached  to  this  vohime  show  the  concentration  of 
the  colored  population  of  the  area  investigated,  which 
includes  parts  of  the  three  wards  referred  to  in  the  table 
above.  One  map  shows  the  nationality  and  color  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  section,  the  other  the  houses  desig- 
nated as  '  brothels.'  The  first  reveals  that  the  colored  pop- 
ulation is  concentrated  in  a  very  limited  area,  which  at 
the  same  time  contains  but  a  small  number  of  whites, 
while  the  rest  of  the  section,  inhabited  by  various  nation- 
alities, does  not  appear  to  contain  a  single  house  inhabited 
by  a  colored  person  as  a  home.  The  second  map  shows 
that  the  section  inhabited  almost  exclusively  by  colored 
persons  is  also  the  section  which  contains  all  the  houses 
of  ill-fame  in  this  part  of  the  city. 

So  far  as  my  personal  investigations  have  gone,  the 
condition  shown  to  exist  in  Chicago  is  found  more  or 
less  in  all  of  the  other  large  cities  of  the  North  and 
and  West.  In  Philadelphia,  Chicago,  Boston  and  Cin- 
cinnati, the  large  majority  of  the  colored  population  is 
found  to  be  living  in  the  worst  section  of  the  city,  a 
section  in  which  vice  and  crime  are  the  only  formative 
influences.  The  negro  in  the  North  and  West  therefore 
presents  an  even  more  serious  problem  than  the  negro 
in  the  South,  if  mere  numbers  are  disregarded. 

In  most  of  the  states  of  the  North  and  West  the 
rural  counties  are  showing  a  constant  decrease  in  the 
colored  population,  the  cities  a  constant  increase.  In 
Missouri,  for  instance,  out  of  a  total  of  115  counties,  74 
show  a  falling  off  in  colored  population  during  the  ten 
years  1880-1890,  while  the  five  largest  cities  show  a 
considerable  increase.  In  Indiana,  which  state  at  one 
time  was  threatened  with  an  invasion  of  negroes  from 


i8  American  Economic  Association. 

the  southern  states,  the  colored  population  has  decreased 
in  48  counties.  In  Ohio  47  counties  show  a  falling  off 
in  colored  population,  while  seven  cities  of  the  state  show 
an  increase  of  a  little  more  than  nine  thousand  during 
the  last  census  period.  For  the  two  states,  Ohio  and 
IMissouri,  I  have  worked  out  a  table  in  which  the  growth 
of  the  urban  at  the  expense  of  the  rural  population  is 
brought  out  with  singular  force. 

COLORED  POPULATION  OF  THE  RURAL  AND    URBAN   SECTIONS  OF 
OHIO  AND  MISSOURI,  1880  AND  1S90. 

Ohio.  Increase. 


Total  Colored  population 87,113  79,900        7,213 

City  of  Cincinnati 11,655  8,179 

Cleveland 2,989  2,038 

Columbus 5,525  3,010 

Dayton 2,158  991 

Springfield 3,549  2,360 

Toledo 1,077  928 

Xenia i,S68  1,943 

Total  Colored  population  of  7  cities  .    .  28,821  I9>449        9,372 

Remainder  of  State 58,292  60,451        ^2,159 


Missouri.  Increase. 

1S90.  18S0.           18S0-90. 

Total  Colored  population 150,184  145.350        4,834 

City  of  St.  Louis 26,865  22,256 

Hannibal 2,073  1.83S 

Kansas  City 13,700  8,143 

St.  Joseph .        3,686  3,227 

Springfield 2,258  1,494 

Total  Colored  population  of  five  cities  .      48,582         36,958       11,624 
Remainder  of  State 101,602       108,392       '6,790 

1  Decrease. 

We  see  that  in  two  of  the  richest  agricultural  states 
of  the  Union  the  colored  population  is  leaving  the  farms 
for  the  cities.  In  both  states  the  rural  sections  show  an 
actual  decrease  in  the  population  while  the  cities  alone 
show    an    increase.     This  increase   is  therefore    not    a 


Race  Traits  a7id  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     19 

natural  one,  that  is,  an  excess  of  births  over  deaths,  but 
is  largely  due  to  migration.  There  is  no  corresponding 
tendency  of  the  colored  population  to  migrate  from  one 
city  to  another.  Most  of  the  new  comers  are  from  the 
countr}',  but  the  city  negro  rarely  returns  to  the  country. 
The  tendency  must  in  the  end  cause  a  general  decrease 
of  the  colored  population  of  the  northern  states,  since 
the  very  heavy  death  rates  of  the  negro  population  of 
the  large  cities  is  not  overbalanced  by  a  greater  birth 
rate. 

In  the  southern  states  this  tendency  prevails,  but  to  a 
less  extent,  on  account  of  the  very  large  rural  popula- 
tion in  which  losses  by  migration  to  the  towns  would 
easily  be  balanced  by  a  more  favorable  birth  rate.  In 
many  sections  of  the  South,  however,  the  negro  seems 
more  and  more  to  drift  into  those  counties  and  tiers  of 
counties  where  his  people  are  largely  in  the  majority. 
Such  counties  form  what  is  known  as  the  '  Black.  Belt,' 
of  which  the  most  important  sections  are  the  Mississippi 
river  belt  which  stretches  from  the  Gulf  to  Memphis, 
and  the  belt  of  the  South  Central  States,  which,  passes 
through  central  IMississippi,  Alabama,  Georgia  and.  tlie 
southern  part  of  South  Carolina. 

An  aggregation  of  the  colored  population  is  to.  be 
found  in  every  southern  state  such  as  I  have  shown  to 
exist  in  the  northern  cities. 

In  all  these  aggregations  the  colored  people  are  in  the 
vast  majority,  but  this  does  not  seem  to  prevent  the 
whites  from  maintaining  control  of  public  affairs.  Even 
in  counties  where  the  negroes  outnumber  the  whites 
fifty  to  one  the  principal  offices  of  the  county  are  in  the 
hands  of  the  latter. 

I  have  deemed  this  point  of  sufficient  importance  to 
abstract  from  the  census  returns  a  table  for  the  principal 


20  American  Econo7nic  Association. 

southern  states  showing  the  concentration  of  the  colored 
population  in  certain  counties,  which  at  the  same  time 
contain  but  a  very  small  proportion  of  whites.  In  some 
instances,  it  will  be  observed,  the  whites  are  but  a  very 
small  fraction  of  the  total  population.  This  tendency, 
if  persisted  in  will  probably  in  the  end  prove  disastrous 
to  the  advancement  of  the  colored  race,  since  there  is 
but  the  slightest  prospect  that  the  race  will  be  lifted  to  a 
higher  plane  of  civilization  except  by  constant  contact 
with  the  wdiite  race. 

PROPORTION   OF  COLORED  TO  WHITES  IN  SELECTED  COUNTIES  OF 
SEVEN  SOUTHERN  STATES,  1S90. 


Alabama. 

Counties.  Whites. 

Bullock 6,055 

Dallas 8,016 

Greene 3,235 

Hale 5,iSo 

Lowndes 4.563 

IMareugo 7.946 

Montgomery 14,682 

Perry 6,812 

Russell 5,814 

Sumter 5,943 

Wilcox 6,794 

Arkansas. 

Chicot 1,392 

Crittenden 2,050 

Jefferson 10,951 

Lee 4,691 

Phillips 5.695 

Florida. 

Jackson 6,332 

Jefferson 3,558 

Leon 3,121 

Georgia. 

Burke 5,817 

Dougherty i,975 

Green 5,332 

Hancock 4,739 

Harris 5,999 

Houston 5  272 

Monroe 6,621 


Col'd  to  1,000 

Colored. 

Whites. 

21,005 

3,469 

41.329 

5,156 

18,771 

5,802 

22,321 

4,309 

26,985 

5.9'4 

25,149 

3.165 

41,485 

2,826 

22,516 

3,305 

18,729 

3,221 

23.631 

3.976 

24,022 

3,445 

10,023 

7,200 

11,890 

5,800 

29,908 

2,731 

14,187 

3,024 

19,640 

3.449 

11,211 

1,771 

12,199 

3.429 

14,631 

4,688 

22,680 

3.899 

10,231 

5,180 

11,719 

2,198 

12,410 

2,619 

10,797 

1,800 

16,341 

3,100 

12,516 

1,890 

Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  A7ncriean  Negro. 


Counties.  Whites. 

Oglethorpe 5,686 

Steward 4,198 

Sumter 7,008 

Wilkes 5,616 

lyOUISIANA. 

Caddo 8,003 

Concordia i,757 

De  vSoto 6,638 

East  Carroll 997 

Ea.st  Feliciana 5,196 

Iberville 6,696 

Madison 931 

Tensas 1,153 

West  Feliciana 2,276 

Mississippi. 

Adams 6,128 

Claiborne 3,533 

Grenada 3,896 

Holmes 7,084 

Jefferson 3,589 

Leflore 2,597 

Lowndes 6,009 

Madison 6,031 

Marshall 9,731 

Noxubee 4, 709 

Sunflower 2,530 

Tunica 1,259 

Washington 4,838 

Wilkins 3,962 

Yazoo 8,690 

South  Carolina. 

Abeville '5,142 

Beufort 2,695 

Berkely 7,687 

Chester 8,482 

Clarendon 6,987 

Colleton 14,032 

Edgefield I7,340 

Fairfield 7, 139 

Georgetown  ........  4.053 

Hampton 6,827 

Newbery 8,966 

Orangeburg 15,654 

Richland ii,933 

Sumter 11,813 

Williamsburg 9,355 


Col'd  to  1,000 

Colored. 

Whites. 

11,264 

1,981 

11,484 

2,736 

15,098 

2,154 

12,464 

2,219 

23,541 

2,942 

13,112 

7,463 

13,220 

1,992 

11,360 

11,394 

12,707 

2,446 

15,142 

2,261 

13.204 

14.183 

15,492 

13.436 

12,785 

5,617 

19,895 

3-247 

10,980 

3, 108 

11,076 

2,841 

23,883 

3,371 

15,356 

4,279 

14,267 

5,494 

21,036 

3,501 

21,290 

3,530 

16,306 

1,676 

22,629 

4,So5 

6,850 

2,708 

10,895 

8,654 

35,530 

7,344 

13,626 

3,439 

27,701 

3,188 

31.705 

2,094 

31.421 

11,659 

47,739 

6,210 

18,178 

2,143 

16,246 

2,325 

26,245 

1,870 

31.916 

1,841 

21,460 

3,006 

16,840 

4,155 

13,717 

2,009 

17,468 

1,948 

33,738 

2,155 

24,885 

2,085 

31,792 

2,691 

18,420 

1,969 

22  Atnerican  Economic  Association. 

Desirable  as  it  would  be  to  go  into  the  details  of  this 
tendency  of  the  negroes  to  congregate  in  certain  rural 
sections  of  the  South,  as  has  been  done  for  the  large 
cities,  it  is  not  possible  to  do  so  here.  The  many 
changes  that  have  been  made  in  the  area  of  such 
counties  as  it  would  be  most  desirable  to  investigate, 
make  a  thorough  study  of  this  phase  of  the  problem 
exceedingly  difficult.  In  the  state  of  Alabama,  for 
example,  nearly  all  of  the  counties  have  undergone 
some  changes  in  area  during  the  past  thirty  years,  with 
the  exception  of  Dallas  and  Sumter  counties,  for  which 
the  statistics  are  very  interesting  and  instructive. 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  POPULATION  OF  TWO  COUNTIES  OF  ALABAMA. 
1850-1890. 

Dallas  Co.  Sumter  Co. 

White.  Colored.  White.  Colored. 

1850 7,461  22,566  7,369  14,881 

i860 7,785  25,840  5,919  18,116 

1870 8,552  32,152  5.202  18,907 

1880 8,425  40,007  6,451  22,277 

1890 8,016  41,329  5.943  23,631 


The  colored  population  in  both  counties  has  increased 
largely  during  the  past  forty  years,  while  the  white  pop- 
ulation has  remained  almost  stationary  or  has  actually 
decreased.  Part  of  the  larger  increase  of  the  colored  pop- 
ulation is  no  doubt  the  result  of  migration  from  other 
sections  of  the  state  ;  a  migration  which,  however,  must 
have  taken  place  previous  to  1880,  since,  during  the  dec- 
ade 1880-90  the  increase  in  the  colored  population  of 
both  counties  has  been  below  the  average. 

The  preceding  table  may  be  compared  with  the  fol- 
lowing which  shows  for  four  counties  with  a  large  white 
population  the  white  and  colored  population  for  the  last 
three  census  years. 


Race  Traits  and  Teiidencies  of  the  American  Negro.     23 

PROGRESS  OF  THE  POPULATION  OF  FOUR  COUNTIES   OF  ALABAMA. 
1870-1890. 

Blount  Co.  Cleburn  Co. 

White.  Colored.  White.         Colored. 

1S70 9,263  682  7,441  576 

1S80 14,210  1,159  10,308  668 

1S90 20,155  1.770  12,427  791 


Jackson  Co.  Walker  Co. 

White.  Colored.  White.  Colored. 

1870       16,350  3,060  6,235  308 

1880 21,074  4,033  8,978  501 

1890 24,179  3,840  14,422  1,656 

The  table  shows  that  there  is  a  similar  tendency 
toward  concentration  on  the  part  of  the  white  popula- 
tion. Though  this  tendency  does  not  seem  general,  the 
whites  in  these  counties  have  made  gains  in  population 
considerably  in  excess  of  the  average  rate  of  increase. 
If  the  general  tendency  is  due  to  emigration  of  the  whites 
from  the  counties  now  gaining  in  colored  and  decreas- 
ing in  white  population,  the  fate  of  the  negro  West  India 
Islands  will  overtake  the  negro  Gulf  states  of  the 
South. 

The  tendency  to  migrate  to  large  cities  and  to  certain 
rural  portions  of  the  southern  states,  is  not  in  the 
nature  of  an  exodus.  In  only  a  very  few  instances  have 
wholesale  migrations  taken  place,  and  these  as  a  rule 
have  met  with  disaster  and  have  proved  a  disappoint- 
ment to  those  who  looked  forward  to  colonization  as  a 
means  of  solving  the  so-called  "  race  problem."  Proba- 
bly the  most  notable  instance  was  the  so-called  "  Negro 
exodus  from  the  southern  states"  during  the  year  1879. 
The  movement  assumed  such  proportions  that  a  special 
committee  of  the  United  States  Senate  was  appointed 
to  investigate  the  causes  which  led  to  the  emigration  of 
colored  people  from  North  Carolina,  Louisiana,  and 
other  states,  largely  to  Kansas  and   Indiana.     The  com- 


24  American  Economic  Association. 

mittee  held  elaborate  hearings,  the  results  of  which  have 
been  published  in  a  work  of  three  volumes,  forming  a 
valuable  body  of  facts  for  study/ 

The  main  causes  of  this  exodus  would  seem  to  have 
been  politicians,  railways  and  land  agents.  There  had 
been  some  discontent  on  account  of  the  restriction  and 
deprivation  of  the  right  to  vote,  but  on  the  whole  the 
colored  people  seemed  previous  to  this  time  to  have  been 
contented.  The  exodus  was  largely  the  result  of  ex- 
ternal causes  and,  as  was  expected  at  the  time,  proved  a 
failure.  A  few  instances  must  suffice  to  make  this  point 
clear,  since  I  cannot  go  into  the  details  of  the  movement. 
But  I  wish  to  show  that  it  was  not  so  much  the  dissatis- 
faction of  the  colored  people  with  the  prevailing  con- 
ditions in  the  southern  states  as  it  was  the  result  of  a 
concerted  arrangement  of  outsiders  to  induce  them  to 
leave  the  plantations  for  the  farms  and  cities  of  the 
West. 

One  Benjamin  Singleton  appeared  before  the  commit- 
tee as  a  witness  and  testified  that  he  was  the  "  father  of 
the  exodus,"  and  that  he  had  brought  to  Kansas,  mostly 
from  Tennessee,  7,432  colored  people  during  the  period 
1869-79.  The  people,  according  to  this  "  father  of  the 
exodus,  "  settled  in  Lyons  and  Cherokee  counties,  Kansas. 
He  asserted  also  that  the  emigrants  he  had  taken  to 
Kansas  "  were  happy  and  doing  well  "  and  that  he  was 
"  the  whole  cause  of  the  emigration  to  Kansas.  "  "  The 
census  returns  of  the  past  three  decades  fail  to  support 
this  assertion  ;  for  according  to  the  ninth,  tenth  and 
eleventh  censuses  there  never  were,  and  are   not   to-day, 

'  Report  and  Testinionj'  of  the  Select  Committee  of  the  United  States 
Senate  to  investigate  the  canj^es  of  the  removal  of  the  negroes  from 
the  southern  states  to  the  northern  states.  46lh  Cong.,  second  session, 
Washington,  D.  C,  18S0.     (Three  Volumes.) 

■•'Senate  Report,  Vol.  I,  p.  XIII. 


Race  Ti-aits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     25 

one-third  of  this  number  of  colored  persons  in  the  two 
counties  named.  In  fact  during  the  past  decade  the 
very  small  number  of  negroes  in  these  two  counties  has 
decreased,  in  contrast  with  a  large  increase  in  the  white 
population. 

PROGRESS  OF  THE  POPULATION  OF  CHEROKEE  AND  LYON   COUN- 
TIES, KANSAS,  1R70-1S90. 

Cherokee  Co.  Lvon  Co. 

Colored.            White.  Colored.             White. 

1S70 134             10,899  '26               7,SS8 

iSSo  i,86r             20,031  T.027             16,298 

1890 1,342             26.421  1,031             22,163 

The  statement  made,  that  7432  colored  people  settled 
in  those  two  counties  of  Kansas  cannot,  therefore,  have 
been  true.  The  aggregate  population  of  these  counties 
has  steadily  increased,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  last  state 
census  (1895)  which  gives  to  Lyon  county  a  population 
of  23,795  and  to  Cherokee  30,651.  In  view  of  this 
progressive  increase  in  the  aggregate  population  it  is 
remarkable  that  the  colored  population  should  show  a  de- 
cline. According  to  the  reports  of  the  Kansas  Bureau  of 
Agriculture  the  general  economic  condition  of  these 
counties  is  excellent,  the  aggregate  value  of  agricultural 
produce  is  considerable,  the  assessed  valuation  being 
about  seven  million  dollars  for  the  former  and  four  mil- 
lions for  the  latter.  There  is  a  large  variety  of  indus- 
tries in  agriculture  and  mining,  and  the  section  would 
seem  to  be  one  where  almost  any  class  of  people  would 
'  increase  and  multiply.' 

Among  the  many  statements  made  before  the  commit- 
tee as  to  the  probability  of  the  colored  people  meeting 
with  success  in  the  northern  states,  is  one  by  Senator 
Blair  who  was  a  member  of  the  committee.  In  reph- 
to  a  statement  by  the  chairman,  Mr.  Vance  of  North 
Carolina,  that  he  would  not  advise  negroes  to  go  to  New 
Hampshire,  Senator  Blair  replied  :  "  Well,  I  would,  and 


26  American  EcoJiomic  Association. 

I  will  tell  yon  another  thing,  that  twenty  thonsand  ne- 
groes wonlcl  do  well  in  New  Hampshire.  I  have  known 
a  good  viany '  negroes  np  in  New  Hampshire  and  I 
never  saw  one  that  had  any  tronble  in  getting  along 
on  acconnt  of  the  climate.  I  extend  a  cordial  invita- 
tion to  them  to  come  to  New  Hampshire ;  twenty 
thousand  of  them  could  get  along  there  and  have  a 
chance  of  making  a  living.  "  ^  New  Hampshire  had  a 
colored  population  of  651  in  1790,  520  in  1850,  and  614 
in  1890.  It  would  therefore  seem  that  the  cordial  invi- 
tation of  the  Senator  of  that  state  had  not  been  heeded. 
That  the  climate  does  play  an  important  part  in  the 
mortality  of  the  negro  will  be  shown  in  another  part  of 
this  monograph,  in  which  the  mortality  of  the  race 
will  be  dealt  with. 

Another  interesting  phase  of  the  problem  was  brought 
out  in  the  testimony  of  a  colored  witness  from  Bolivar 
county,  INIiss.  In  reply  to  the  question  of  the  chairman 
of  the  committee  as  to  the  causes  of  the  exodus  from 
his  county  the  witness  replied  :  "  So  far  as  the  exodus 
from  our  county  is  concerned  I  don't  believe  there  ever 
would  have  been  any  man  to  leave  there  if  it  had  not 
been  for  a  colored  man  that  lives  in  Helena,  by  the  name 

of  Dr.  C .     He  came  down  here  in  '78  and  he  got  it 

into  the  minds  of  the  people  there  that  they  could  go  to 
Liberia  ;  that  there  was  one  tree  there  that  bore  the 
bread  and  another  that  bore  the  lard  and  they  had  noth- 
ing at  all  to  do  but  to  go  to  one  tree  and  dry  the  fruit 
that  gave  the  bread  and  to  the  other  tree  and  cut  it  and 
set  a  bucket  under  it  and  catch  the  lard.  It  was  the 
most  outrageous  thing  ever  perpetrated  on  an  ignorant 
race  in  the  world. "^ 

'  The  italics  are  the  writer's. 

'■^  Report  and  Testimony  of  Select  Committee,  etc.,  Vol.   III.,  p.  34. 

^  Ibid.,  Vol.  Ill,  page  520. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     27 

In  reply  to  the  question  of  the  chairman,  "  Is  there 
another  place  within  your  knowledge  where  the  colored 
people  are  so  well  off  as  they  are  in  Bolivar  count)'  ?  " 
witness  replies,  "  No  sir,  there  is  nowhere  that  they  could 
be  better  off  if  they  would  do  only  what  they  ought  to 
do  and  be  industrious  and  work  as  they  ought  to  work 
to  make  their  own  way."  ^  It  may  be  of  interest  to 
compare  the  progress  of  the  colored  with  that  of  the 
white  population  of  this  county  for  the  past  fifty  years  for 
the  purpose  of  showing  how  far  the  statements  of  this 
witness  are  supported  by  the  facts.  In  addition  to  the 
data  for  Bolivar  county,  I  give  in  the  table  below  the 
same  facts  for  Washington  county  which  adjoins  Bolivar. 

PROGRESS  OF  THE  POPULATION  OF  BOLIVAR  AND   WASHINGTON 
COUNTIES,  MISSISSIPPI,  1840-1S90. 

Bolivar  Co.  Washington  Co. 

White.  Colored.  White.  Colored. 

1840 384  972  654  6,633 

1850 395  2,182  546  7,843 

i860  1,393  9.078  1,212  14,467 

1870  1,900  7,816  2.164  12,405 

18S0  2,694  15,958  3,478  21,861 

1890  3,222  26,737  4,838  35.530 

The  negroes  according  to  the  above  table  are  largely 
in  the  majority  and  increasing  at  a  rate  out  of  propor- 
tion to  the  normal  increase  in  the  population  at  large. 
The  large  increase  is  partly  due  to  migration  since  a 
natural  increase  in  ten  years  of  10,779  ^'^  ^  population 
of  15,958  would  be  impossible. 

The  most  emphatic  prediction  was  probably  that  of  a 
colored  witness  from  Natchitoches  parish.  La.,  who  ex- 
pressed himself  as  follows  in  reply  to  the  question  of  I\Ir. 
Windom  as  to  the  probable  effect  on  this  exodus  of  the 
election  of  a  Democratic  President :  "  The  eff'ect  would 

'  Report  and  Testimony  of  Select  CommiUee,  etc.,  Vol.  Ill,  page  523 


28  American  Economic  Association. 

be  to  create  a  great  deal  of  consternation  among  them  ; 
I  think  it  would  cause  them  to  leave  the  southern  states, 
not  in  a  systematic  way  at  all,  but  as  they  started  away 
this  last  year  to  go  to  Kansas,  pell-mell — a  regular 
stampede — I  am  satisfied  it  would."  '  Such  was  the 
gloomy  prediction.  Twice  since  then  a  Democratic 
President  has  been  elected  and  the  predicted  exodus  has 
— not  taken  place.  Much  to  the  contrary  the  colored 
population  of  Nachitoches  parish  has  increased  from 
12,020  in  1880  to  15,551  in  1890,  and  the  white  popula- 
tion of  the  same  parish  has  made  a  corresponding 
progress.  So  far  as  my  information  goes,  no  consternation 
was  created  by  the  news  of  the  election  of  }.Ir.  Cleveland 
in  1884  and  1892,  and  there  was  no  stampede  of  any 
kind. 

The  instances  here  quoted  prove  how  far  mere  opinion 
may  mislead  even  the  most  sincere  well  wisher  of  the 
colored  race,  and  show  the  absolute  necessity  of  a  body 
of  carefully  collected  and  thoroughly  digested  facts 
from  which  to  make  deductions  as  to  the  present  and  pos- 
sible future  condition  of  the  negro  of  the  South.  The 
wholesale  migration  of  the  colored  population  of  the 
southern  states  to  other  sections  of  the  United  States,  or 
even  to  other  countries,  as  IMexico  and  Liberia,  may  be 
considered  as  the  most  remote  possibility  ;  and  it  may 
be  safely  asserted  that  all  of  the  attempts  in  this  direc- 
tion have  practically  proven  failures. 

It  would  go  beyond  the  purpose  of  this  monograph  were 
I  to  attempt  even  an  outline  of  the  history  of  negro  coloni- 
zation, but  I  will  quote  the  results  of  the  most  recent  at- 
tempt, that  of  colonizing  American  negroes  in  the  state  of 
Durango  in  INIexico.  Some  seven  to  eight  hundred 
families  entered  into  an  agreement  with  a  s^mdicate,  by 

1  Report  and  Testimony  of  Select  Committee,  etc.,  Vol.  II,  page  443. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro. 


29 


which  they  were  to  have  60  acres  of  land  or  more,  ac- 
cording to  size  of  family,  forty  acres  to  be  planted  in 
cotton  and  fifteen  in  corn,  and  properly  tilled  nnder 
supervision  ;  the  right  being  reserved,  in  case  of  default, 
to  employ  labor  at  the  expense  of  the  colonist.  Five 
acres  were  given  rent  free  for  the  sustenance  of  each 
family.  In  addition,  water  for  irrigation  was  to  be  fur- 
nished free,  as  well  as  farming  implements,  mules  and 
teams  for  farming  purposes,  and  food  for  the  same.  The 
colonists  were  to  perform  all  labor  and  receive  one-half 
of  the  crops.  Houses,  fuel  and  water  were  provided 
free,  and  rations,  medicines,  etc.,  were  furnished  at  cost 
to  be  repaid  out  of  the  crops.  Land  was  set  apart  for 
one  church  and  one  school  house  to  each  one  hundred 
families.  The  colonists  were  to  receive  one-half  of  the 
cotton  seed  as  well  as  one-half  of  all  the  other  products 
raised  by  them,  and  they  obligated  themselves  to  sell  to 
the  promoters  all  their  corn,  cotton  and  cotton-seed  at 
the  market  prices.  The  cost  of  transportation  was  to 
be  advanced,  and  to  be  repaid  out  of  their  share  of  the 
crops. 

The  agreement  was  to  last  for  five  years.  It  did  not 
last  one  year.  The  whole  plan  proved  a  dismal  failure 
and  a  considerable  pecuniary  loss  to  those  who  directed 
it,  as  well  as  a  loss  of  time,  money,  and  even  life,  to  the 
colonists.  The  negroes  proved  unreasonable  and  of  far 
less  service  than  had  been  expected.  They  were  con- 
trolled largely  by  bad  leaders  of  their  own  race  who 
stirred  up  strife,  and  they  were  induced  to  leave  '  by  a 
little  rascal  who  had  been  but  recently  released  from  the 
Georgia  penitentiary.'  The  colony  came  to  an  inglori- 
ous end. 

As  to  the  fitness  of  the  negroes  for  the  work  they  had 
agreed  to  perform,  and  which,  as  has  been  pointed  out 


30  American  Economic  Association. 

in  the  above  summary  of  the  agreement,  was  ahnost 
identical  with  sonthern  farm  labor,  I  cannot  do  better  than 
quote  portions  of  a  special  report  to  the  Evening  Post^ 
dated  July  8,  1895.  ^"  In  the  course  of  these  conferences 
with  the  negroes  it  became  evident  that  they  are,  as  a 
class,  incapable  of  assimilating  readily  with  new  surround- 
ings or  of  applying  to  them  the  first  dictates  of  common 
sense.  They  are  superstitious,  suspicious  and  easily 
swayed  by  the  intriguers  among  them.  The  impression 
left  on  the  mind  of  an  unprejudiced  obser\'er  was,  in  short, 
that  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  negroes  had  left  home 
from  a  love  of  novelty  and  adventure,  had  exhausted 
these  delights  and  were  bent  on  repudiating  their  agree- 
ments and  forcing  their  partners  in  the  contract  to 
restore  them  to  their  homes  without  regard  to  right  or 
reason.  The  conclusion  drawn  from  a  close  study  of 
this  colony  was,  I  regret  to  say,  that  it  was  foredoomed 
to  failure.  While  the  region  in  which  it  was  laid  was 
no  paradise,  it  was  free  from  the  objections  incident  to 
most  of  the  similar  previous  efforts  of  this  sort. 
Whether  wisely  or  mistakenly  guided,  every  endeavor 
was  made  to  meet  the  reasonable  requirements  of  the 
colonists.  To  those  who  interest  themselves  in  the 
future  of  the  negro  this  experiment  presents  little  cause 
for  congratulation.  It  indicates,  that  the  same  limita- 
tions which  hinder  his  advancement  at  home,  are  equally 
apparent  when  he  changes  his  habitation  and  that  until 
he  is  capable  of  self  control  and  intelligent  application 
among  the  surroundings  with  which  he  is  familiar  there 
is  but  small  hope  that  he  will  succeed  amid  strange  en- 
vironments. .  .  If  this  experiment  is  entitled  to  rank 
as  an  example  it  would  seem  that  the  ordinary  negro 
'  hand'  of  the  southern  states,  whatever  are  his  trials  and 
tribulations  at  home,  is  more  likely  to  be  satisfied  there 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     31 

than  when  transported  to  other,  even  if  more  favorable 
scenes."^ 

I  have  qnoted  from  the  report  of  Mr.  Mackie  at  con- 
siderable length  becanse  a  correct  view  of  the  coloniza- 
tion question  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  Colonization 
is  still  advocated  with  persistency  by  many  who  see  in  it 
the  only  solution  of  the  so-called  race  question  of  the 
South.  If  the  negro  cannot  be  colonized  under  such 
favorable  conditions  as  the  experiment  in  Mexico  pre- 
sented (and  no  charge  has  ever  been  made  that  it  was 
not  honestly  managed  on  the  part  of  the  promoters  of  the 
scheme)  the  sooner  this  is  realized  the  better. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  negro  has  failed  to  gain  a 
foothold  in  any  of  the  northern  states  as  an  agri- 
cultural laborer ;  it  has  been  shown  that  he  has  re- 
mained in  the  South,  contrary  to  the  many  predictions 
of  wholesale  migration  ;  and  lastly  it  has  been  shown 
that  he  has  failed  in  the  most  recent  experiment  of 
colonization.  The  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  the 
statistical  tables  previously  presented  would  be  that  he 
is  in  the  South  as  a  permanent  factor,  with  neither  the 
ability  nor  inclination  to  leave  this  section  in  large  num- 
bers, for  the  North  or  for  foreign  countries.  The  observed 
tendency  to  drift  into  the  cities,  there  to  concentrate  in 
the  most  undesirable  and  unsanitary  sections,  is  therefore 
of  considerable  importance,  since  it  is  most  likely  to  be 
persisted  in  with  increasing  force  in  the  future.  The  loss 
thus  sustained  by  the  rural  districts  of  the  South  is  not 
very  large  numerically  nor  proportionally,  and  the  evil 
effect  will  be  more  felt  by  the  cities  which  are  thus 
augmented  in  population  of  an  undesirable  character. 
The  further  tendency  to  concentrate  into  certain  sections 
of  the  South,  especially  those  which  already  possess  a  pre- 

'  Charles  Paul  Mackie  in  the  New  York  Evening  Post. 


32  American  Eco7iomic  Association. 

ponderating  colored  population,  presents  the  most  serious 
aspect  of  the  problem.  We  have  here  to  deal  with 
large  numbers ;  which  must  have  a  corresponding  effect 
on  the  welfare  of  the  individual  state  thus  affected,  as 
well  as  on  the  nation  at  large. 


Chapter  II. 
vital  statistics. 

"  Mortality  statistics  surpass  all  other  vital  statistics  in  importance, 
whether  they  are  considered  from  a  social,  an  actuarial  or  a  sanitary 
standpoint." — Newsholme. 

.  This  part  will  be  devoted  almost  exclusively  to  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  mortality  statistics  of  the  colored  popu- 
lation, together  with  such  information  pertaining  to  the 
white  population  as  will  bring  out  the  most  important 
differences  in  the  vitality  of  the  two  races.  Desirable 
as  it  would  be  to  have  as  a  basis  a  comparative  state- 
ment of  the  birth  rates  of  both  races,  it  must  be  admit 
ted  that  information  on  this  point  is  almost  entirely 
wanting,  and  that  no  trustworthy  conclusion  as  to  the 
comparative  fecundity  can  be  arrived  at.  In  the  forth- 
coming eleventh  census  reports  on  mortality,  by  Dr. 
Billings,  we  may  expect  to  find  the  best  that  can  be 
done  in  this  direction  at  the  present  time ;  and  a  com- 
prehensive discussion  of  the  comparative  mortality  may 
enable  us  to  make  up  for  the  want  of  reliable  informa- 
tion as  to  the  comparative  fecundity. 

That  the  birth  rate  of  the  negroes  is  in  excess  of  that 
of  the  white  population  is  probably  true  even  at  the 
the  present  time,  at  least  as  compared  with  the  native 
whites.  That  it  is  not  as  high  as  has  often  been  stated, 
however,  is  proved  by  the  fairly  accurate  statistics  of 
the  West  Indies.  In  Alabama  we  have  had  for  a  series 
of  years  a  commendable  attempt  to  collect  information 
in  this  line,  but  with  a  varying  degree  of  success.  For 
some  of  the  northern  states,  especially   Rhode  Island, 


34  American  Economic  Association. 

Connecticut  and  Massachusetts,  valuable  information 
has  been  collected  but  in  view  of  the  differences 
in  the  age  distribution  of  the  colored  population  of 
those  states  as  compared  with  the  whites,  it  is  difficult 
to  arrive  at  a  correct  estimate.  It  would  appear,  how- 
ever, that  in  the  northern  states  the  negro  mortality  is 
in  excess  of  the  natality  ;  while  the  reports  for  Alabama 
show  a  birth  rate  equal  to  twice  the  death  rate.  Among 
the  whites  of  Alabama  the  reports  show  three  births  to 
one  death.  The  admitted  defects  of  the  Alabama  re- 
ports may  be  assumed  to  affect  the  rates  for  both  races 
in  the  same  degree,  and  the  excess  of  natural  increase 
'in  the  white  population  as  compared  with  the  colored 
is  probably  correctly  represented  by  the  table  below  : 

VITAL  STATISTICS  OF  THE  WHITE  AND  COLORED  POPULATIONS  OF 
ALABAMA,  1888-1893. 


white  Population. 

Colored  Population. 

Ratio  of 

Ratio  of 

Births. 

Deaths. 

Births 
to  Deaths. 

Births. 

Deaths. 

Births 
to  Deaths. 

1888. 

10,841 

3.673 

8,263 

4,046 

1889. 

14,649 

5,066 

9.765 

4,994 

1890 . 

13.631 

4-716 

9.955 

5.005 

I89I  . 

11,484 

3.827 

9.138 

4.283 

1^92  . 

10,819 

3.720 

8,237 

4,100 

.     .     . 

1893- 

12,453 

3.945 

9,961 
55,319 

4.406 
26,834 

I8S8-93 

73,877 

24,947 

2.96  to  r 

2.06  to  I 

In  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  the 
vital  statistics  for  the  colored  population  have  been  col- 
lected for  many  years,  but  it  is  only  for  the  first  named 
state  that  I  am  able  to  give  the  returns  for  a  period  of 
some  length.  For  Massachusetts  the  information  has 
been  collected  but  not  published,  excepting  for  the  year 
1888.  The  data  so  far  as  they  have  come  to  my  notice, 
are  contained  in  the  following  three  tables,  all  of  which 
show  a  mortality  in  excess  of  the  registered  births. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.-     35 

VITAI,  STATISTICS  OF  THE  COLORED  POPULATION  OK  RHODE  ISLAND. 


Period. 

Births. 

Deaths. 

iS6r-70  .    .    . 

1,131 

1,153 

Excess  of  Deaths     22 

1S71-80  .    .    . 

.          1,6.5 

1.573 

Births      42 

i88r-90  .    .    . 

1,954 

1,860 

Births       94 

1891-93  •    •    • 

558 

690 

"             Deaths  132 

1861-93  .    .    . 

.        5,25s 

5.276 

"            Deaths     18 

VITAL  STATISTICS  OF  THE  COLORED  POPULATION  OF  CONNECTICUT. 

Period.  Births.  Deaths. 

1881-S5  .    .    .    .  1,340  1,391  Excess  of  Deaths    51 

1S86-90  ....  1.374  1,554  "                "        170 

1891-93  ....  939  990  "                 "           51 

1881-93  ....  3,653  3,925  "                 "         272 


\aTAL  STATISTICS  OF  THE  COLORED  POPULATION  OF 
MASSACHUSETTS,  i8S8. 

Births 511 

Deaths 579 

Excess  of  Deaths 68 


The  three  tables  support  each  other  and  leave  no. 
doubt  as  to  the  excessive  mortality  and  low  birth  rate  of 
the  colored  population  in  the  northern  states.  Possibly 
the  omission  of  births  would  be  balanced  by  omissions 
of  deaths  and  proportionally  the  result  would  be  the 
same  even  under  the  most  perfect  registration  system. 

The  low  vitality  of  the  colored  race  in  the  North  did 
not  escape  the  notice  of  the  officials  in  charge  of  the 
registration  records,  and  some  of  the  editorial  comments 
may  not  be  out  of  place  here.  Dr.  Fisher,  for  many 
years  the  registrar  of  vital  statistics  of  Rhode  Island, 
refers  to  the  subject  in  the  second  annual  report  of  the 
state  board  of  health,  as  follows  :  "  The  circumstances 
favorable  to  the  promotion  of  the  physical  health  of 
the  colored  population  are  believed  to  be  at  least  quite 
as  favorable  and  ample  in  Rhode  Island  as  in  any  other 


36  Amcricaii  Ecojwmic  Association. 

northern  or  eastern  state.  When  we  find  that  in  a  period 
of  eighteen  years  the  excess  of  births  over  deaths  is 
only  42,  and  having  full  knowledge  of  the  fact  that 
the  state  is  annually  having  accessions  to  the  number  of 
colored  people  by  immigration  and  these  accessions 
largely  in  the  periods  of  life  between  twenty  and  forty 
years,  we  must  conclude,  however  reluctantly,  that  the 
race  is  not  self-sustaining  in  this  latitude.'" 

Dr.  Snow,  the  eminent  registrar  of  Providence  arrived 
at  practically  the  same  conclusion  nearly  twenty  years 
before  the  above  was  written,  and  makes  use  of  the  fol- 
lowing language,  which  seems  justified  by  the  facts 
quoted  :  "  During  the  past  four  years,  1855-58  inclusive, 
176  colored  children  have  been  born  in  this  city,  of 
which  88  were  males  and  88  were  females.  During  the 
same  period  there  have  been  206  deaths  of  colored  per- 
sons, or  29  more  deaths  than  births.  The  colored  popu- 
lation is  evidently  not  self-sustaining  in  this  city."" 

Mr.  Appolino,  one  time  registrar  of  Boston,  in  his  re- 
port for  1862  concludes  that,  "  in  each  of  the  aspects  in 
which  the  subject  may  be  viewed  the  colored  race  seems, 
so  far  as  this  city  is  concerned,  to  be  doomed  to  extinc- 
tion."^ During  the  period  of  seven  years  preceding 
1862  there  had  been  reported  304  births  of  colored  chil- 
dren in  Boston  and  500  deaths ;  which  facts  fully  justify 
tlie  conclusion  of  ]Mr.  Appolino,  than  whom  Boston  never 
had  a  more  able  and  conscientious  registrar. 

These  conclusions,  based,  not  on  chance  observation 
or  opinion,  but  on  registration  data,  are  in  contrast  with 
the  view  of  those  who  have  held  that  the  negro  could  live 
in  the  northern  as  well  as  in  the  southern  states  of  the 

^  Secoud  Annual   Report  of  the   Rhode   Island  Board  of  Health, 
i(i8So),  p.  107. 

^Annual  report  for  1S58,  p.  3. 
^  Annual  report  for  1S62,  p.  7. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendoicics  of  the  Avicrican  Negro.     37 

Union.  One  instance  of  the  latter  claim  has  been  given,' 
and  I  select  out  of  many  others  the  statement  of  the  au- 
thor of  the  "  History  of  the  Maroons."  In  relating  the 
transfer  of  the  Maroons  to  Nova  Scotia,  he  speaks  of  the 
effect  of  the  climate  as  follows  :  "  It  is  proved,  by  experi- 
ence, that  the  negro  race  can  endure  the  severity  of  a 
cold  climate  as  well  as  white  people,  if  equally  clothed,"^ 
The  writer  did  not  state  on  what  experience  this  observ'a- 
tion  was  founded  but  goes  on  to  say  that  the  Maroons 
were  later  on  removed  to  the  Coast  of  West  Africa,  much 
to  their  own  satisfaction. 

The  vitality  of  the  negro  may  well  be  considered  the 
most  important  phase  of  the  so-called  race  problem  ; 
for  it  is  a  fact  which  can  and  will  be  demonstrated  by 
indisputable  evidence,  that  of  all  races  for  which  sta- 
tistics are  obtainable,  and  which  enter  at  all  into  the  con- 
sideration of  economic  problems  as  factors,  the  negro 
shows  the  least  power  of  resistance  in  the  struggle  for 
life. 

Most  writers  who  have  dealt  with  the  subject  from 
this  standpoint  have  referred  to  the  excessive  mortality 
of  the  colored  race.  Most  of  the  officials  of  the  health 
offices  of  southern  cities  have  from  time  to  time  dis- 
cussed the  waste  of  life  among  these  people.  Some 
have  essayed  to  treat  of  the  causes,  and  others  of  the 
means  of  prevention ;  but  thus  far  no  effectual  remedy 
has  been  suggested  wdiich  would  even  slightly  improve 
the  present  condition,  a  condition  which,  unchecked,  must 
lead  eventually  to  extermination,  at  a  rate  far  more  rapid 
than  the  recent  census  returns  would  indicate. 

In  the  second  annual  report  of  the  Atlanta  board  of 
health,  occurs  the  following  reference  to  the  excessive 
colored  mortality  :  "  The  disparity  in  the  relative  death 
1  Page  25. 

*R.  C.  Dallas,  "History  of  the  Maroons,"  (London,  1S03),  Vol.  11, 
p.  199. 


38  American  Eco7iomic  AssociatioJi. 

rates  of  the  whites  and  negroes  is  striking  and  invariable. 
The  record  in  this  city  does  not  differ  from  that  of  other 
cities.  The  fact  is  significant  and  full  of  melancholoy 
interest,  and  unless  the  figures  in  the  cities  are  reversed 
by  the  statistics  from  the  rural  districts,  the  fate  of  the 
race  will  not  be  difficult  to  read." 

The  second  annual  report  of  the  National  Board  of 
Health,  edited  by  the  foremost  medical  authorities  of 
the  time,  gives  expression  to  the  following  opinion  : 
"  These  figures  (vital  statistics  of  Cuba),  demonstrate 
conclusively,  as  the  statistics  of  all  southern  countries 
have  invariably  done,  that  the  old  idea  that  the  negro 
surpassed  the  white  in  enduring  tropical  or  southern 
climates  was  false ;  and  that  in  truth  the  colored  death 
rate  is  habitually  greater,"  ^ 

This  concensus  of  opinion  of  northern  and  southern 
authorities  is  fully  supported  by  all  the  available  data. 
It  is  true  that  most  of  the  collected  statistics  have  refer- 
ence only  to  the  large  cities  ;  but  in  view  of  the  tenden- 
cy of  the  colored  population  to  migrate  from  the  country 
to  the  cities  in  ever  increasing  numbers,  and  at  the  age 
period  most  favorable  for  a  low  general  death  rate,  the 
proof  of  an  excessive  mortality  rate  is  of  the  greatest 
economic  and  social  significance.  The  following  table 
will  show  the  comparative  death  rates  of  the  white  and 
colored  populations  of  ten  southern  cities  for  the  period 
1890-94.  The  rates  are  calculated  on  the  basis  of  the 
census  of  1890  in  accordance  with  the  method  of  Dr. 
Farr.  The  mortality  figures  have  been  obtained  from 
the  annual  reports  of  the  health  officers  of  the  respect- 
ive cities.  The  rates  will  differ  from  those  calculated  by 
the  city  authorities,  who  make  use  of  no  uniform  method 
in  calculating  the  increase  in  the  population. 

1  Annual  report,  National  Board  of  Health,  i8So,  p.  224. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     39 


COMPARATIVE  DEATH  RATES  OF  THE  WHITE  AND  COLORED  POPU- 
LATIONS OF  TEN  SOUTHERN  CITIES,  1890-1894 


Washington, 

Baltimore, 
Md. 

Richmond, 
Va. 

Memphis. 
Tenn. 

Louisville, 
Ky. 

White.  Col'd. 

White.  Col'd. 

White.  Col'd.  White.  Col'd. 

White.  Col'd. 

1890  .  . 

1891  .  . 

IS92 .  . 

1893  .  . 

1894  .  . 

1890-94 

18.97    34.74 
19-37    33-27 
20.70    32-57 
21.33    32-79 
18.62    30.85 

19.80    32.78 

21.96    32.28 

20.87    32.47 
21-55    3t.55 
18.58    30.33 
17.81    30.47 

20.01    31.39 

22.31     37.86 
20.75    34-17 
18.26    33.14 
18.16    32.05 
15.20    25.46 

19.03    32.45 

17.84    24.58 
17-73     25.33 
15-56    31-86 
12.35     29.96 
11.84    29.84 

14.84     22.12 

27.64    28.79 
16.84    37.02 
17.S4    29.42 
16.96    26.85 
15-99    25.47 
17.04    27.41 

Atlanta,  Ga.   Savann'h,  Ga. 

Charleston, 
S.C. 

Mobile,  Ala. 

New  Orleans, 
La. 

1890  .    . 

1891  ,    . 

1892  .    . 

1893  •    . 

1894  .    . 

189(^94 

1 
18.92    32.2624.70    37.8621.36    42.2021.57    34.5125.96    40.73 
18.64    31-3622.29    31.2523.00    43.6121.50    29.5624.65    37.18 
16.44    29.35  21. S3    33.6224.25    41.3623.93    32.9626.16    41-59 
15  21    28.9221.51    30.7922.02    39.81  20.91    32.6224.53    39.65 
12.58    22.2718.16    28.6119.62    39.80|  19.59    28.6523.04    37.97 

16.17    28.5921.43    32.2622.05    41.3421.44    31.6024.85    39.42 

COMBINED  MORTALITY  RATE  OF  TEN  CITIES,   1890-1894. 

Death  rate,  White, 20.12 

Death  rate,  Colored 32.61 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  mortality  among  the 
colored  exceeds  that  of  the  whites  in  each  of  the  ten 
cities  embraced  in  the  above  table,  which  inclndes  most  of 
the  principal  cities  of  the  Sonth.  The  difference  in  the 
comparative  mortality  of  the  two  races  is  greatest  for 
Charleston  and  least  for  Memphis,  but  the  percentage  of 
excess  is  greatest  for  Charleston  and  least  for  Mobile. 
In  the  former  city  the  negro  death  rate  is  87.5  per  cent, 
above  that  of  the  whites,  and  in  the  latter  47.4  per  cent. 
For  the  ten  cities  combined  the  mortality  of  the  negroes 
exceeds  that  of  the  whites  by  12.49  P^^  1,000  of  popu- 
lation or  by  62.1  per  cent. 

The  results  of  this  comparison  therefore  support  the 
opinions  of  the  authorities  previously  quoted,  even  in 


40  American  Economic  Association. 

the  case  of  those  sections  of  the  south  which  have  been 
considered  least  favorable  for  the  white  population. 
The  comparative  rates  are  based  on  an  aggregate  white 
population  of  5,371,355  with  108,045  deaths,  and  an  ag- 
gregate colored  population  of  2,085,679  with  68,012 
deaths.  The  period  of  observation  covered  five  years  in 
which  the  health  of  each  race  was  normal  and  not  dis- 
turbed by  epidemics. 

The  facts  brought  out  in  the  above  table  relate  to 
about  416,000  of  the  total  colored  population.  Even  if 
the  negro  mortality  in  the  country  districts  were  less 
than  that  of  the  whites,  which  it  is  not,  the  fact  that 
so  large  a  portion  of  the  colored  population  is  affected 
by  the  high  death  rate  named  must  prove  an  important 
factor,  economic  as  well  as  social  and  moral,  in  the 
progress  of  the  race.  Whatever  the  causes  may  be  to 
which  we  must  attribute  this  difference  in  the  statistics 
of  the  two  races,  they  deserve  to  be  fully  investigated. 

The  foregoing  table,  giving  only  the  gross  death  rates 
of  the  two  races,  is  fairly  reliable  for  southern  cities, 
since  the  age  distribution  of  the  two  races  is  nearly  the 
same  in  each  of  them.  But  to  fully  comprehend  the 
significance  of  the  higher  mortality  of  the  colored  popu- 
lation it  will  be  necessary  to  consider  the  mortality  rate 
for  the  different  periods  of  life.  In  the  large  cities  of 
the  North  and  West  the  age  distribution  of  the  colored 
population  is  so  radically  different  from  that  of  the 
white  that  a  gross  death  rate  is  of  no  value  and  is  even 
misleading. 

The  age  distribution  of  the  two  races  in  two  southern 
and  two  northern  cities  is  given  in  the  table  below,  which 
has  been  calculated  from  the  census. 


Race  Traits  ayid  Tendencies  of  the  Ajuerican  Negro.     41 


COMPARATIVE  AGE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  WHITE  AND  COLORED 
POPULATIONS  OF  FOUR  CITIES.— (1890.) 


Ages. 

New  York. 

Brooklyn. 

Charleston. 

New  Orleans. 

i 

Percentage. 

Percentage.    |    Percentage. 

Percentage. 

White. 

Col'd. 

White. 

Col'd.'White. 

Col'd. 

White. 

Col'd. 

Under  15         .    . 

28.9 

192 

30.8 

24.4    3046 

3».95 

,32.52 

32-06 

15-20  .    . 

9.9 

7.6 

9.8 

8.7   11085 

98210.79 

9.86 

20-25   •    • 

II. 7 

1,^0 

10.9 

12.6    10.47 

II. 19  10.70 

10.49 

25-35   .    . 

20.2 

27-3 

18.9 

22.2    115.74 

16.84,16.33 

15.06 

35-45   .    . 

13-3 

J8.8 

12.6 

16.4    I12.17 

13-58  11-42 

12.97 

45-55   .    . 

8.8 

9.0 

9.0 

8.9       9.42 

8.17I  8.83 

9-99 

55-65   .    . 

4.6 

31 

50 

4-2  1  6.33 

3-S5: 5-60 

5.25 

Over 

65 

2.6 

2.0 

3  0 

2.6      4.56 

3.60   3  81 

4.32 

According  to  this  table  the  proportion  of  negroes  in  the 
northern  cities  is  largest  for  the  age  periods  in  which  the 
mortality  is  least,  that  is  from  fifteen  to  forty-five  3'ears. 
This  excess  of  adults  at  middle  age  is  due  solely  to  the 
constant  influx  of  3'oung  people  from  the  southern  states. 
The  result  is  that  the  gross  death  rate  for  the  colored 
population  is  not  so  high  as  it  would  be  if  the  age  dis- 
tribution were  the  same  as  that  of  the  whites.  In  the 
southern  cities  the  differences,  it  will  be  observed,  are 
very  slight  and  the  gross  death  rates  of  those  cities  are 
therefore  more  reliable  than  those  of  the  large  cities  of 
the  North  and  West,  which  understate  the  facts.  This 
element  of  error  is  eliminated  in  the  following  tables 
which  .show  for  six  cities  the  comparative  death  rates  of 
the  two  races  at  various  periods  of  life.  For  the  four 
northern  cities  the  death  rates  are  given  for  eight  periods 
and  for  Baltimore  and  the  District  of  Columbia  for  four. 
It  is  very  unfortunate  that  in  the  reports  of  Dr.  Billings, 
from  which  the  tables  have  been  compiled,  a  different 
method  should  have  been  employed  for  the  two  groups 
of  cities,  thus  making  an  exact  comparison  impo.ssible. 


42 


American  Economic  Association. 


DEATH  RATES  OF  FOUR  CITIES  FOR  1890.  CALCUI^TED  FOR  EIGHT 
AGE  GROUPS.! 


New  York. 

Brooklyn. 

Boston. 

Philadelphia. 

White.     Col'd. 

White. 

Col'd. 

White. 

Col'd. 

White.     Col'd. 

All  Ages 

28.47    37-47 

25-41 

34.9924.62 

33-29 

22.28      32.42 

Under  15         .    . 

47.06    87.42 

40.69 

69.4540.20 

78.40 

34.89      69.24 

15-20  .    . 

5-65     1432 

5.42 

12.54    7.27 

9.69 

6.17       13.61 

20-25  .    . 

9.84    16.12'  8.60 

15-95:  9-76 

17.64 

8.81       14.50 

25-35  .    • 

14.15     19.2412.65 

"-53  12.43 

14.72 

10.S5       15.21 

35-45  .    • 

2o.9r    25.29  15.93 

21.79  16.37 

18.98 

13.60       17.16 

45-55  .    . 

2930    355623.03 

34.0221.71 

36.07 

18.98       29.41 

55-65  .    . 

48.45    79-0540.60 

47-9336-45 

51.55 

31.56      40.09 

65  and  ov. 

105.16    94.8696.09 

i44-37|94-oi 

1 13.51  88.88    116.49 

Still-births  included. 


DEATH  RATES  OF  BALTIMORE  AND  WASHINGTON,  D.  C,  FOR  1S90, 
CALCULATED  FOR  FOUR  AGE  GROUPS.* 


Baltimore,  Md. 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Ages. 

^\^lite. 

Colored. 

White. 

Colored. 

Under    5  years  .    . 

.     So.  27 

171.78 

65.04 

159-93 

Under  15  years  .    , 

.  30.71 

64.24 

23.90 

57.00 

15-45  years  .    . 

.    8.99 

14.88 

929 

17.09 

45  years  and  over. 

.   37.49 

42.3t 

33-88 

47.60 

!  Still-births  excluded. 


It  will  be  observed  that  the  gross  death  rates  for 
the  colored  population  exceed  those  of  the  white 
and  this  too,  in  view  of  the  fact  just  stated,  that 
the  age  distribution  of  the  colored  is  far  more  favor- 
able for  a  low  general  death  rate  than  that  of  the 
white  population.  Considering  the  mortality  rates  for 
various  age  groups  it  will  be  noticed  that  for  the  earliest 
period  the  difFerence  is  enormous.  In  New  York  for  in- 
stance the  white  population  for  the  age  group  o — 15 
shows  a  death  rate  of  47.06  per  thousand  while  that  of 
the  colored  population  for  the  same  age  period  is  87.42 
per  thousand.  The  same  disparity  is  to  be  observed  in 
all  of  the  other  cities  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  and  it  is 
not  until  we  reach  the  higher  age  periods  that  we  find 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    43 

the  mortality  rates  of  the  two  races  Hearing  each  other. 
Even  at  the  highest  ages  the  white  mortality  rate  rarely 
approaches  the  colored.  Only  in  one  instance  does  it 
rise  above.  Before  considering  the  comparative  differ- 
ences in  the  mortality  of  the  two  races  for  the  different 
age  periods,  in  the  cities  of  the  North,  I  wonld  direct 
the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  following  tables  for 
three  cities  of  the  South,  all  of  which  may  be  considered 
representative  of  the  respective  sections  in  which  they  are 
located.  The  tables  have  been  calculated  by  the  writer 
on  advance  statistics  of  the  age  distribution  of  the  popu- 
lation, kindly  furnished  him  for  this  purpose  by  Mr. 
Carroll  D.  Wright,  the  acting  superintendent  of  the  cen- 
sus. The  mortality  returns  have  been  obtained  from 
the  board  of  health  reports  of  the  respective  cities  for  the 
year  1890.  The  age  groups  differ  from  those  of  the  pre- 
ceding table,  giving  the  mortality  for  ten  year  periods 
after  the  age  of  ten.  But  for  the  want  of  uniformity  in  the 
mortality  returns  of  southern  cities  it  would  have  been 
possible  to  give  similar  tables  for  other  cities.  However, 
the  cities  furnishing  reports  for  the  above  tables  may 
be  assumed  to  represent  fairly  the  prevailing  condi- 
tions in  other  cities  of  the  south. 


NBW  ORLEANS— 1S90. 


White. 

Colored. 

Rate  per 

Rate  per 

Ages. 

Population. 

Deaths. 

1000. 

Population. 

Deaths 

1000. 

O-I       .     . 

3,842 

1,035 

269.4 

1,290 

555 

430.2 

0-5   .  . 

19.134 

1,428 

74.6 

6,787 

805 

I18.6 

5-9     •    . 

19,466 

98 

5-0 

7,145 

70 

9.8 

10-19  .    . 

38,216 

165 

4-3 

13,179 

154 

II. 7 

20-29  •    • 

34,467 

377 

10.9 

12,091 

•277 

22.9 

30-39  •    . 

24,502 

509 

20.8 

9,169 

270 

29.4 

39-49  .    . 

17,551 

475 

27.1 

7,337 

256 

34-9 

49-59      • 

I2,66t 

534 

42.2 

4,642 

244 

52.6 

59-69  .    . 

7,634 

501 

65.6 

2,476 

221 

89-3 

69-79  .    . 

2,879 

354 

123.0 

1,065 

176 

165.3 

44 


Afnerican  Economic  Association. 


CHARLESTON.-i 

890. 

White. 

Colored. 

Ages. 

Population 

Deaths. 

Rate  per 

1000. 

Population. 

Deaths 

Rate  per 

IOCX3. 

O-I      .    . 

494 

99 

200.4 

758 

350 

461.7 

0-5      .    . 

2,285 

148 

64.8 

3.455 

5'7 

149  6 

5-9     •    • 
10-19  •    • 

2,365 
5,231 

8 
17 

3-4 
3-3 

3.391 
6,428 

37 
104 

10  9 

l6.2 

20-29  .    . 
30-39  •    • 
40-49  •    • 

4.420 
3.406 
2,526 

42 

47 
57 

9-5 
13.8 
22.6 

6,503 
4,635 
3,2oH 

170 

112 
98 

26.1 
24.2 
30.6 

50-59       • 
60-69  .    . 
70-79  .    . 

1,859 

1,184 

440 

47 
69 
47 

253 
58.3 
106.8 

1.674 

1,031 

407 

72 

79 
66 

430 
766 
162.2 

RICHMOND.— 1890. 


O-I      .     .     .                   I,!02 

206 

1869 

625 

331 

529.6 

0-5 

4.942 

3^2 

67.2 

2,772 

496 

178.9 

5-9 

4,871 

40 

8.2 

3.063 

57 

18.6 

10-19 

10,420 

58 

5-6 

7,134 

78 

109 

20-29 

9.S59 

1 13 

II-5 

7.387 

'34 

iS.i 

30-39 

7.053 

98 

13-9 

4,634 

99 

21.4 

40-49 

5,030 

92 

18.3 

3,488 

92 

26.4 

50-59 

3-539 

100 

28.3 

1.853 

92 

49-7 

60-69 

2.119 

101 

47-7 

1,021 

75 

73-5 

70-79 

834 

104 

124.7 

380 

46 

121. 1 

COJIPARATXVE  DEATH  RATES  FOR  THREE  SOUTHERN  CITIES. 
DEATHS  PER  1000  UVING  AT  SAME  AGE.     (1890.) 


New  Orleans. 

Charleston. 

Richmond. 

Ages.                  White.         Colored. 

White.         Colored. 

White. 

Colored 

O-I     ...      269.4           430.2 

200.4            461.7 

186.9 

5298 

0-5 

74.6           118. 6 

64.8             149.6 

67.2 

1789 

5-9 

5.0              9.8 

3.4               10.9 

8.2 

18.6 

10-19 

4-3             i'-7 

3-3              '6.2 

5-6 

10.9 

20-29 

109             22.9 

9.5              26.1 

II-5 

iS.l 

30-39 

20.8             29.4 

I3.S                 24  2 

139 

2T.4 

40-49 

27.1             34.9 

22.6                 30.6 

18.3 

26.4 

50-59 

42.2             52.6 

25-3             43-0 

28.3 

49  7 

60-69 

65.6             S9.3 

58.3             76.6 

47-7 

73-5 

70-79 

123.0           165.3 

106.S           162.2 

1247 

121. 1 

I  have  given  all  the  data  from  which  the  rates  were 
calculated,  in  order  to  enable  the  reader  to  form  his  own 
opinion  as  to  the  value  of  the  results.  The  three  tables 
fully  support  the  previous  conclusions  for  northern  cities 
and  show  that  the  greatest  excess  of  mortality  amongst 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    45 

the  colored  falls  on  the  early  age  groups.  The  excess 
at  the  very  early  ages,  /.  <?.,  from  birth  to  the  end  of  the 
first  year  and  to  the  end  of  the  fifth  year  is,  however, 
not  as  great  proportionately  as  the  excess  at  the  age 
periods  immediately  following ;  but  the  actual  excess, 
the  greatest  waste  of  life,  falls  on  the  earliest  age 
group.  The  economic  importance  of  this  fact  can- 
not be  overestimated.  An  excessive  infant  mortality, 
such  as  we  meet  with  among  the  white  population  in 
all  parts  of  the  country,  has  at  all  times  been  the  con- 
cern of  the  philanthropist  and  economist,  but  nowhere 
else  do  we  meet  with  such  a  frightful  infant  mortality 
as  we  find  prevailing  among  the  colored  population  of 
the  large  cities,  both  North  and  South.  In  one  city, 
Richmond,  over  half  of  the  negro  children  die  under 
one  year,  a  mortality  so  great  that  no  greater  fecundity 
could  balance  the  loss.  The  increase  of  the  population 
which  we  observe  in  all  cities  of  the  South  and  North, 
must  therefore  be  largely  due  to  migration  from  the  coun- 
try. In  the  cities  of  the  South  there  is  less  difference  in 
the  death  rates  of  the  two  races  as  the  higher  age  groups 
are  reached,  but  in  only  one  case  is  there  a  difference  in 
favor  of  the  colored  race.  These  differences  are  brought 
out  in  the  tables  which  follow,  in  which  the  percentage 
of  excess  of  the  negro  mortality  over  the  white  is  shown 
for  three  age  periods,  first  for  Washington  and  Balti- 
more, second  for  the  three  southern  cities,  to  which  is 
added  a  comparative  table  for  four  northern  cities. 

COMPARATIVE  MORTALITY  OF  WHITES  AND  NEGROES*  IN  BALTI- 
MORE AND  WASHINGTON,  1890. 


Baltimore. 
Ages.                   White.        Col'd. 

Col'd  over 

White. 
Per  cent. 

Washington. 
White.         Col'd. 

Col'd  over 

White. 
Per  cent. 

oto  15    .    .    .  30.71 

64.24 

109.2 

23.90 

57.00 

138.5 

i5to45   .    •    •    8.99 

14.88 

65.5 

9.29 

17.09 

84.0 

45  and  over.  .  37.49 

42.43 

13.2 

33-88 

47.60 

40.5 

1  Vital  Statistics  of  Washington  and  Baltimore, 
4 

1890,  p.  6. 

46  Afncrica7i  Economic  Association. 

COMPARATIVE  MORTALITY  OF  NEGROES  AND  WHITES. 


Four 
North'n  Cities.> 

South- 
White. 

Four 

n  Cities.! 

Colored. 

Excess  of 
Negro  Jlortality. 

O-I     . 
0-5     • 

230.92 
72.74 

240-57 
72.17 

467.67 
144.38 

94.4  per 
100. 1 

cent. 

5-IO. 
I0-20  . 

7-50 
5-45 

551 
4.58 

12.58 
12.11 

128.3 
164.4 

20-30  . 
30-40  . 

9-37 
13.60 

10.95 
18.76 

21.58 
25.11 

97.8 
33-9 

40-50. 
50-60  . 
60-70  . 

19.49 
26.57 
56.  SS 

24.88 
37.71 
61.70 

.32.32 
47.64 
78.18 

29.9 
26.3 
26.7 

Boston,  St.  Louis,  New  Haven  and  Cincinnati. 
Savanah,  New  Orleans,  Charleston  and  Richmond. 


The  percentage  of  excess  in  negro  mortality  is  here 
shown  to  be  highest  for  the  period  of  life  under  fifteen, 
next  highest  from  fifteen  to  forty-five  and  lowest  for  the 
age  periods  over  forty-five.  There  are  slight  deviations 
from  this  rule  but  none  which  materially  affect  the 
conclusion  that  the  young  generation  of  the  colored 
population  shows  the  highest,  and  the  oldest  generation 
the  lowest,  percentage  of  mortality  above  that  of  the 
white  race. 

It  may  be  of  value  to  show  briefly  the  influence  of  sex 
on  this  excessive  mortality.  I  have  abstracted,  in  part, 
from  the  reports  of  Dr.  Billings,  the  comparative  mortal- 
ity of  the  two  sexes  for  three  cities  for  eight  age  groups. 
I  have  selected  the  three  northern  cities  w^here  females 
largely  predominate  and  the  increase  in  the  population 
is  largely  due  to  migration  from  the  country.  The 
tables  are  deserving  of  consideration  as  showing  the 
effects  of  city  life  on  the  colored  population  of  middle 
age. 


Race  Traits  and  Te7idenncs  of  the  Ayncrican  Negro.    47 


COMPARATIVE     MORTALITY    OF    WHITE    AND    COLORED    ACCORDING 
TO  AGE  AND  SEX.— 1890. 


NEW  YORK. 

Male. 

. 

Females. 

White. 

Colored. 

White. 

Colored. 

All  ages  .    . 

31-15 

42.06 

25.87 

33-OI 

Under  15   . 

51.15 

96.76 

42.97 

78.23 

15-20  . 

6.25 

18.82 

5.13 

10.86 

20-25  . 

11.47 

21.17 

8.52 

11.47 

25-35  . 

1554 

21.40 

12.71 

17.02 

35-45  . 

2330 

29.69 

18.32 

20.45 

45-55  . 

31.86 

40.68 

26.60 

30.20 

55-65   . 

53-88 

98.16 

43.41 

65.82 

65  and  o^ 

rer, 

107.99 

87.72 

102.84 

98.51 

BOSTON. 

All  Ages.  . 

25.96 

31.56 

23.37 

35.32 

Under  15 

43.18 

75.22 

37-18 

81.40 

15-20 

7.22 

9-58 

7.31 

9.80 

20-25 

10.88 

15-76 

8.79 

19.76 

25-35 

12.85 

15.51 

12.03 

13.60 

35-45 

17.54 

2397 

15.15 

12.59 

45-55 

23-39 

31.39 

19.94 

41.90 

55-65 

38.02 

52.98 

35.12 

50.00 

65  and  o\ 

er, 

97.19 

129.03 

91.72 

105.69 

PHILADELPHIA. 

All  ages.   .    . 

23-85 

36.02 

20.79 

29.23 

Under  15 

37.22 

75.81 

32-51 

63.12 

15-20 

6.49 

15.01 

5-89 

12.66 

20-25 

10.12 

19.75 

7-64 

10.46 

25-35  . 

11.28 

14.12 

10.43 

16.24 

35-45  . 

15.30 

20.52 

II. 91 

13.55 

45-55       . 

20.85 

33.67 

17.20 

25.48 

55-65  .    . 

36.44 

47.70 

27.42 

34.57 

65  and  ov 

er, 

93.51 

155-26 

85.35 

96.47 

PERCENTAG 

E  OF  COLORED  MORTALITY  OVER  WHITE,  ACCORDING 

TO  AGE  AND  SEX 

Males. 

Females 

New 

Philadel- 

New 

Philadel- 

Ages. 

York.       Boston, 

phia. 

York. 

Boston. 

phia. 

Per 

Ct.     Per  Ct. 

Per  Ct. 

Per  Ct. 

Per  Ct. 

Per  Ct. 

All  ages  .    . 

•       35 

0          21.6 

51.0 

27.6 

5I.I 

40.6 

Under     15 

.       89 

2            81.6 

103.7 

58.8 

I16.2 

94.2 

15-20 

.     201 

0     32.7 

131-3 

III.7 

20.4 

I14.9 

20-25 

.      84.6        44-9 

95-2 

34-6 

124.8 

36.9 

25-35 

.      38.4        20.7 

25.2 

33-9 

13. 1 

55.7 

35-45 

.      27.4        36.7 

34-1 

11.6 

13.8 

45-55 

.      27.7        63.4 

61.5 

13-5 

109.6 

48.1 

55-65 

.      82 

2            20.5 

30.1 

5J.6 

42.4 

18.8 

65  and  o^ 

rer,      * 

32.8 

66.0 

4.2 

13-0 

■  White  mortality  in  excess  of  colored. 


48  Aincrica7i  Economic  Association. 

The  excess  in  the  negro  mortality  rate  varies  consid- 
erably for  some  age  groups,  which  is  due,  in  part,  to  the 
small  numbers  on  which  the  ratios  are  based.  How- 
ever, for  the  age  periods  under  25,  the  excess  of  mor- 
tality is  greater  for  males  than  for  females  and  almost 
without  exception  the  numerical  mortality  for  colored 
males  is  in  excess  of  that  of  the  females  at  all  periods 
of  life.  The  most  important  exception  is  to  be  observed 
in  Boston  where  the  mortality  of  females  under  25  is  in 
excess  of  the  male  mortality.  In  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia the  females  with  slight  and  unimportant  excep- 
tions have  a  lower  mortality  rate  than  the  males,  irre- 
spective of  race  and  age.  In  Boston  white  females  at 
all  ages,  excepting  fifteen  to  twenty  have  a  more  fav- 
orable mortality  rate  than  males,  while  colored  females 
have  a  lower  mortality  only  after  the  age  twenty-five. 
This  favorable  rate  for  females  is  due  in  part  to  the 
greater  liability  of  the  male  to  accidental  death,  more 
frequent  exposure  to  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  and 
last,  not  least,  to  his  more  pronounced  criminal  ten- 
dencies. Females  also  are  usually  employed  as  domestic 
servants  and  in  consequence  are  better  cared  for  in  every 
respect  than  the  colored  male,  who  only  too  often  leads 
the  life  of  a  vagrant  and  roust-about  in  search  of  some- 
thing to  do,  honest  or  otherwise. 

The  effect  of  conjugal  condition  on  the  mortality  rate 
is  fairly  well  brought  out  in  a  table  for  Washington  and 
Baltimore  abstracted  from  the  report  of  Dr.  Billings. 
The  respective  death  rates  are  given  for  two  age  periods 
and  afford  an  interesting  comparison.  It  must  be  taken 
into  consideration,  however,  that  the  conjugal  condition 
of  the  colored  population  is  not  so  clearly  defined  as  it  is 
for  the  white  raze.  This  is  easily  understood  when  I 
mention  the  fact  that  over  25  per  cent,  of  the  colored 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     49 

children  born  in  Washington  are  reported  as  illegitimate, 
as  compared  with  less  than  3  per  cent,  for  the  whites. 
It  is  probable,  however,  that  all  those  who  had  borne 
children  were  ennmerated  as  married,  or  at  least  those 
who  were  living  under  the  conditions  of  married  life. 

DEATH  RATES  OF  THE  WHITE  AND  COLORED  POPULATIONS 
ACCORDING  TO  CONJUGAL  CONDITION. 


MALES-AGES  15-45. 

FEMALES-AGES  15-45. 

Washington.          Baltimore. 

White.    Col'd.      White.    Col'd. 

Single  .    .    .       10.47     18.58       9.19     13.75 

Married    .    .        9.06     16.67       S.9S     13.49 

Widowed..      40.17     50.51     26.95     30.93 

Washington.          Baltimore. 

White.     Col'd.    White,    Col'd. 
6.44     14.50       6.53      13.20 
9.56      16.72       9.76      16.31 

13.65      15.12      12.02      14.36 

MALE.S-45  AND  OVER. 

FEMALES— 45  AND  OVER. 

Single  .    .    .      48. 23     69.33     35-70    6o.8i 
Married   .    .      29.94    40.75     31.22     39.60 
Widowed  .  .      80  12     99.42     74.59    83.48 

26.04    37-6t     37.79    46.05 
1805     28.50    24.13     24.77 
42.00    56.37    54.85     46.01 

It  remains  for  me  to  add  to  the  present  series  of  tables 
two  which  have  some  bearing  on  the  condition  of  life  of 
the  colored  population  in  our  large  cities,  namely  those 
showing  altitude  and  density  of  population.  It  is  a  fav- 
orite argument  with  some  authors  who  have  written  upon 
the  causes  of  the  excessive  mortality  of  the  colored  race, 
that  the  low  social  and  economic  conditions  of  the.se  peo- 
ple, as  well  as  the  general  unsanitary  condition  of  their 
dwellings,  are  largely  responsible  for  their  higher  mor- 
tality. In  a  word,  they  attribute  to  the  environment 
most  of  the  ills  that  at  present  affect  so  seriously  the 
duration  of  life  for  the  colored  race.  These  writers  argue 
that,  given  the  same  social,  economic  and  sanitary  con- 
ditions of  life,  the  colored  race  would  enjoy  the  same 
health  and  favorable  death  rate  as  the  white  population. 
The  powerful  influences  of  a  bad  heredity  are  almost 
wholly  ignored  and  the  greatest  stress  is  laid  upon  the 
effect  of  the  environment.     I  therefore  call  attention  to 


50 


Americayi  Economic  Association. 


the  tables  below,  which,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  present  cer- 
tain facts  not  hitherto  published.  It  is  true  that  the  Sur- 
geon-General of  the  Army,'  as  well  as  Dr.  Cunningham  of 
the  Alabama  Penitentiary,^  have  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  even  under  the  same  conditions,  subject  to  the 
same  regulations,  fed  and  clothed  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  white  man,  doing  the  same  class  of  work,  the  negro  is 
still  subject  to  a  higher  death  rate ;  but  the  statements* 
of  these  two  high  authorities  have  never  been  duly  con- 
sidered by  those  who  believe  so  firmly  in  the  all  power- 
ful effect  of  the  '  milieux.' 

DEATH  RATES  OF  THE  WHITE  AND   COLORED   POPULATION  AT  ALL 
AGES  AND  UNDER  5  YEARS    FOR  TWO   CITIES,   ACCORDING 
TO  ALTITUDE." 


Washiugon. 


Washingon. 


Average 
Altitude 


All  Ages. 


(In  feet.) 


White. 


Uuder   25    21.26 


25-  50 

50-  75 

75-IOO 

Over    100 


19-83 
17.24 

15-67 
17.24 


Col'd. 
37-48 
37.06 
31-87 
32.56 
31-23 


All  Ages. 


Under  5  yrs.' 


Under  5  yrs.' 


White. 

23-63 
21.84 
21.64 
18.31 
17.16 


Col'd. 
44-65 
36-51 
34-34 
28.03 
28.21 


White. 

78.85 
I   71-41 

57.59 

5230 
'  57.87 


Col'd. 


White. 


167.69  86.92 

155.21  76.96 

159-57  78.78 

157-^*^9  66.16 

136. II  58. 70 


Col'd. 

203.30 

194-03 

155-68 

1 48.  .^9 

145-53 


1  Exclusive  of  still  births. 


DEATH  RATES  OF  THE  WHITE  AND   COLORED   POPULATION  OF   TWO 
CITIES,  ACCORDING   TO  DENSITY  OF  POPULATION. 


Persous  to  the  Acre. 


Washington. 

All  Ages. 

White.  Colored. 

Under  25 18.51  35.46 

25-50 18.54  31-19 

50  aud  over 17.78  34-72 

Baltimore. 

Uuder    50 22.73  39-13 

50-100 18.34  27.74 

Over    100 21.58  36.98 

1  Exclusive  of  still  births. 


Under 

5  years.i 

White. 

Colored. 

60.94 

161.77 

66.31 

148.49 

64-34 

163.98 

80.11 

196.40 

66.91 

14934 

77-S7 

171.65 

^  Johu  Moore,  Aunual  report,  Surgeon-General  of  the  Army,  1889, 
p.  18. 
'^  Medical  News,  Feb.  3,  1894. 


Race  Traits  a?id  Tendencies  of  the  America?i  Negro.    51 

The  above  two  tables  are  of  great  value  as  evidence 
that  environment  has  less  effect  on  the  duration  of  life 
than  have  the  factors  of  race  and  heredity.  It  will  be  ob- 
served that  even  under  the  most  favorable  conditions  as 
indicated  by  a  high  altitude  and  low  density  of  popula- 
tion, the  excessive  negro  mortality  rate  remains  compara- 
tively the  same.  The  per  cent,  of  excess  in  the  rate  for 
the  population  living  under  the  most  unfavorable  condi- 
tions as  indicated  by  the  degree  of  altitude,  is  76.29  for 
Washington  and  88.95  for  Baltimore,  while  for  the  popu- 
lation under  the  most  favgrable  conditions  the  excess  is 
81.15  per  cent,  for  the  former  and  64.39  per  cent,  for  the 
latter  city.  The  evil  effect  of  a  low  altitude  is  too  well 
known  to  need  more  than  a  reference  to  it,  and  the  im- 
portance of  these  remarkable  facts  will  be  fully  under- 
stood by  those  familiar  with  the  influence  of  soil  moisture 
on  mortality.  I  give  similar  information  for  the  age 
group  under  five,  and  also  with  respect  to  the  effect  of 
density  of  population,  to  assist  those  who  wish  to  trace 
more  fully  the  effect  of  environment  on  the  mortality  of 
the  colored  race.  It  may  be  of  interest  here  to  give  the 
comparative  distribution  of  the  white  and  colored  popu- 
lations of  Washington  and  Baltimore  according  to  alti- 
tude. It  will  be  seen  that  in  the  two  cities  the  negroes 
live  in  larger  proportion  in  the  most  favored  localities 
so  far  as  indicated  by  a  higher  altitude.  Hence  the  gross 
death  rate  of  the  colored  race  is  only  slightly  if  at  all 
affected  by  either  altitude  or  density,  both  of  wdiich  are 
factors  of  the  highest  importance  in  the  duration  of  life 
in  the  white  race.  The  conditions  of  life  therefore,  so 
far  as  these  two  factors  are  concerned,  would  seem  to  be 
of  less  importance  than  race  and  heredity. 


52  American  Economic  Association. 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  WHITE  AND  COLORED  POPULATIONS  OF  TWO 
CITIES  ACCORDING  TO  ALTITUDE.— (Percentage  of  total  population.) 


Baltimore, 

,  Md. 

Washington 

,  D.  C. 

1890. 

1890. 

Average 

White. 

Colored. 

White. 

Colored. 

Altitude  in  feat. 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

PerCe.it. 

Per  Cent. 

Under  25    ...    . 

18.01 

12.53 

-     14-53 

19.62 

25-50.    .    . 

25-58 

19.01 

25  62 

15-14 

50-75  •    •    • 

14-59 

12.77 

38. 55 

40. 86 

75-100.   .    . 

20.25 

1S.72 

1494 

17-79 

100  and  over 

21.57 

36.97 

6.36 

6.59 

The  natural  question  in  \'iew  of  this  proof  of  an  ex- 
cessive mortality  of  the  colored  race,  an  excess  met  with 
under  all  the  varying  conditions,  locality,  age,  sex,  con- 
jugal condition,  altitude  and  density  of  population,  is, 
whether  the  unusual  mortality  has  always  existed  or  is 
of  recent  origin,  i.  e.^  whether  the  excessive  mortality  is 
a  result  of  new  conditions  of  life  or  is  a  fundamental 
race  trait.  It  will  always  be  difficult  to  an-swer  this 
question  satisfactorily,  since  the  mortality  statistics 
for  the  early  part  of  the  present  century  are  wanting  in 
details,  without  which  it  is  difficult  to  arrive  at  a  satis- 
factory conclusion.  The  higher  rate  of  increase  of  the 
colored  population  during  the  period  preceding  the  war 
would  indicate  that  during  slavery  the  mortality  was 
not  so  high,  at  least  not  in  the  United  States,  as  it  has 
been  since  emancipation,  while  the  gradual  lowering  of 
the  decennial  rate  of  increase  would  indicate  that  a  pro- 
cess of  deterioration  has  been  going  on  ever  since  18 10, 
but  less  intense  before  emancipation  than  during  the 
past  thirty  years. 

So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  the  only  fairly 
complete  record  of  white  and  negro  mortality  for  a  con- 
siderable length  of  time  has  been  kept  in  the  city  of 
Charleston,  for  which  city  we  are  fortunate  enough  to 
have  an  almost  unbroken  record  from  the  year  1822. 
Through  the  kindness  of  Dr.  H.  B.  Horlbeck,  the  health 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     53 


officer  of  Charleston,  I  have  been  able  to  obtain  a  state- 
ment of  the  comparative  mortality  of  the  two  races  from 
1822  to  1894,  excepting  the  war  period,  when  no  data  of 
value  were  collected.  To  Dr.  Gordon  de  Sassure  of  the 
same  city  I  am  indebted  for  a  copy  of  the  census  of 
Charleston  for  1848,  which  is  a  document  of  great  sta- 
tistical and  historical  value.  I  am  therefore  able  to  in- 
clude in  the  table  which  follows,  some  statistics  which 
have  seldom  been  used,  and  which  I  trust  will  be  of 
value  to  those  who  are  interested  in  the  course  of  the 
mortality  of  the  two  races.  I  have  also  obtained  from 
Dr.  T.  S.  Scales,  former  health  officer  of  Mobile,  a  partial 
statement  of  the  white  and  colored  mortality  of  that  city 
for  the  period  1843-55,  with  some  years  missing.  For 
Savannah  I  have  compiled  the  mortality  returns  for  the 
period  preceding  the  war,  from  the  very  valuable  essay  of 
Dr.  Eugene  Corson  on  the  "  Vital  Equation  of  the  Col- 
ored Race."  For  all  recent  years  I  have  made  use  of  the 
official  board  of  health  reports  for  the  various  cities.  The 
death  rates  are  based  on  the  population  estimated  in  ac- 
cordance with  Dr.  Farr's  method  for  intercensal  years, 
thus  insuring  uniformity  and  freedom  from  the  indi- 
vidual guess  work.  It  is  of  course  unfortunate  that  the 
periods  under  observation  are  not  always  the  same,  but 
this  is  unavoidable  in  view  of  the  dearth  of  data. 

COMPARATIVE  MORTALITY  OF  SOUTHERN  CITIE.S  FOR  VARIOUS 
PERIODS   OF  TIME. 


Mobile,  Ala. 

Charleston,  S.  C. 

Periods. 

White. 

Colored. 

Periods. 

White. 

Colored. 

1S43-46 
1847-50 
1852-55 
1876-80 
I SB 1-85 
18S6-90 
1891-94 

45-S3 
42.53 
54.39 
24.64 
26.14 
23-92 
21.40 

23.10 
31-19 
34-70 
39-74 
36.26 

35-11 
30.91 

1822-30 
1831-40 

1851-60 
1866-75 
1876-85 
1886-94 

32-73 
2524 
16.17 
29.79 
25-56 
24.32 
22.26 

28.16 
25.02 
19.77 
34-12 

44-06 

54 


American  Econoyyiic  Association. 


COM  PAR. 

VTIVE  MORI 

rAUTY  OF  SOUTHERN  CI 

riES  FOR  VARIOUS 

PERIODS  OF  TIME. 

Savannah,  Ga. 

New  Orleans,  La. 

Periods. 

White. 

Colored. 

Periods. 

White. 

Colored. 

1856-60 

37.19 

34.07 

1849-60 

596 

52.1 

1861-65 

50.19 

49-65 

1871-73 

28.63 

44.61 

1866-70 

33-16 

57.26 

'875-79 

31-25 

40.22 

1871-75 

32.70 

44.82 

1S80-84 

25.01 

52.33 

I.S76-80 

38.60 

51.66 

1S85-89 

2381 

35-22 

1881-85 

27.02 

41.67               1890-94 

24.85 

3942 

1886-90 

22.52 

37.26       \ 

1891-94 

21.43 

32  26       ' 

The  table  before  us  presents  with  a  fair  degree  of  ac- 
curacy the  course  of  the  death  rates  for  both  races  for 
long  periods  of  time.  While  the  point  to  be  brought 
out  by  this  table  is  not  as  clear  as  would  be  desirable,  it 
is  shown  that  for  the  white  population  there  has  been  a 
considerable  and  fairly  constant  fall  in  the  death  rate ; 
while  for  the  colored  population  the  mortality  at  the 
present  time  would  seem  to  be  higher  as  a  rule  than  it 
was  forty  or  fifty  years  ago.  For  Charleston  the  records 
are  the  most  complete  and  therefore  the  most  satisfactory 
from  a  statistical  standpoint,  and  they  show  clearly  the 
unfavorable  change  in  the  mortality  rate  of  the  colored 
race. 

If  we  combine  the  periods  under  observation  so  that 
one  period  is  formed  by  the  years  before  the  war  and  the 
other  for  the  period  of  freedom,  we  have  a  more  compact 
body  of  data  in  which  the  possibility  of  accidental  varia- 
tion is  eliminated.  By  this  method  the  death  rate  of  the 
white  population  of  Charleston  is  shown  to  have  been 
25.60  before  the  war  and  24.04  for  the  period  1866-94, 
giving  a  decrease  m  the  white  mortality  of  1.56  per 
1,000.  The  mortality  rate  of  the  colored  population 
during  the  same  period  increased  from  26.45  during 
1822-60  to  43.33  during   1S66-94,  or   16.88  per  1,000, 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     55 

In  Mobile  the  mortality  rate  of  the  whites  decreased 
from  48.26  during  the  period  1843-55  ^^  24.13  for  the 
period  1876-94  while  in  the  same  interim  the  negro 
mortality  rate  increased  from  30.31  to  35.60  per  1,000, 

For  these  two  cities  therefore  the  conclusion  is  war- 
ranted that  the  negro  mortality  has  largely  increased 
since  emancipation,  and  that  too  in  the  localities  con- 
sidered most  favorable  for  the  race.  What  is  here  shown 
to  be  true  for  two  cities,  each  of  which  represents  dif- 
ferent conditions  of  life,  economic  as  well  as  climatic 
and  sanitary,  we  may  assume  to  hold  fairly  true  for  other 
sections  of  the  south.  The  proverbial  longevity  of  the 
negro  has  probably  never  existed  as  a  matter  of  fact,  but 
we  have  an  abundance  of  testimony,  unfortunately  little 
of  it  statistical,  that  previous  to  emancipation  the  negro 
enjoyed  health  equal  if  not  superior  to  that  of  the  white 
race.  Consequently  the  proved  tendency  towards  a 
higher  death  rate  must  be  considered  an  evidence  of  race 
deterioration,  which  in  part  will  explain  the  gradual 
lowering  of  the  rate  of  increase  of  the  colored  popula- 
tion, brought  out  more  distinctly  than  ever  by  the  cen- 
sus of  1890. 

The  above  facts,  however,  are  insufficient  for  a  deter- 
mination of  the  importance  that  should  be  attached  to 
the  increasing  mortality  rate  of  the  colored  race.  This 
is  brought  out  by  comparing  the  death  rates  at  various 
ages  and  periods  of  life. 

The  first  table  has  been  comj^iled  in  part  from  the 
valuable  report  of  De  Saussure  on  the  census  of  Charles- 
ton in  1848,'  and  in  part  from  a  table  of  Charleston  death 
rates  previously  given.  At  the  same  time  the  per  cent, 
of  excess  in  the  negro  mortality  rate  over  the  white,  or 

'Census  of  the  city  of  Charleston  for  the  year  184S,  by  J.  L.  Daw- 
sou,  M.D.  and  H.  W.  De  Saussure,  M.D.     Charleston,  S.  C,  1849. 


56  Avierican  Economic  Association. 

vice  versa^  is  shown  in  a  separate  column.  The  rates 
have  been  calculated  in  conformity  with  others  of  the  same 
kind,  namely,  on  the  living  population  for  the  same  ages. 

COMPARATIVE  MORTALITY  FOR  CHARLESTON,  S.  C,  1S48  AND  1S90. 
(Deaths  per  1,000  living  at  same  ages.) 


Excess  of  Col'd 

1 

[848. 

1890 

motality  over 

White. 

White. 

Col'd. 

White. 

Col'd. 

1S4S. 
Per  ct. 

1S90. 
Per  ct. 

Under  5    .    . 

.    .       3I-I 

75-0 

64.S 

149-6 

141. 1 

130.9 

5-10    .    . 

.    .         58 

3-9 

3-4 

10  9 

' 

220.6 

10-20    .    . 

.    .         30 

II. I 

32 

16.2 

261.3 

406.3 

20-30    .    . 

.     .         II. 2 

12.3 

9-5 

26.1 

9.8 

174.7 

30-40    .    . 

.     .         16. 1 

15-3 

13.S 

24.2 

' 

75-4 

40-50    .    . 

.     .        21. 8 

21.9 

22.6 

30.5 

0.5 

350 

50-60    .    . 

.     .        28.4 

28.3 

25-3 

43-0 

1 

70.0 

60-70    .    . 

•    •      47-5 

58.8 

58.3 

766 

23-8 

31-4 

70-80    .    . 

•    •      97-3 

106.3 

106.8 

162.2 

9.2 

51-9 

1  white  mortality  in  exces.s  of  colored. 

This  table  is  most  interesting  and  valuable  from  an 
economic  or  other  scientific  standpoint.  We  can  here 
trace  the  rate  of  the  mortality  through  the  various 
stages  of  life  and  compare  the  tw^o  races  at  two  radically 
different  periods,  the  one  under  slavery,  the  otlier  under 
freedom.  During  the  former,  according  to  this  table, 
the  mortality  of  the  colored  exceeded  that  of  the  white 
population  for  the  age  period  0-5  by  141  per  cent.,  and 
in  1890  by  131  per  cent.  For  the  second  age  group  the 
negro  mortality  rate  for  1890  was  221  per  cent,  higher 
than  that  of  the  whites,  in  contrast  with  a  former 
excess  in  the  mortality  of  the  whites  for  this  age 
group.  For  the  two  next  higher  age  groups  the  rate 
is  almost  double  at  the  present  time  what  it  was 
before  emancipation,  and  for  the  next  three  groups 
a  former  mortality  rate  favorable  to  the  colored 
race  has  been  changed  into  one  largely  unfavorable. 
At  the  most  advanced  aees  the  numbers  are  rather  small 


Race  Traits  and  Teiidcncics  of  the  American  Negro.     57 


and  the  excess  of    negro  mortality  at  these  periods  is 
difficult  to  define. 

As  general  inferences  to  be  drawn  from  the  table  before 
us  it  may  be  safely  concluded  that  the  negro  mortality 
rate  has  increased  for  all  periods  of  life  ;  that  the  ex- 
cess of  negro  mortality  over  that  of  the  whites  previous 
to  emancipation  existed  to  a  considerable  degree  for 
only  two  age  periods  below  the  age  sixty,  but  that  at 
the  present  time  it  is  to  be  observed  at  all  ages.  At  the 
present  time  the  excess  is  greatest  for  the  first  genera- 
tion, and  least  for  the  third — if  we  divide  the  whole  of 
life  into  three  periods  as  has  been  done  heretofore.  It 
would  seem  therefore,  thafthe  young  generation  is  the 
one  least  fit  for  race  survival,  and  the  consequent  loss  of 
social  effectiveness,  as  Mr.  Kidd  calls  it,  is  enormous. 
The  great  difference  in  the  expectation  of  life  for  the 
two  races  is  brought  out  with  scientific  accuracy  in  the 
following  life  table,  abstracted  from  the  census  of  1880. 
No  official  life  tables  have  been  compiled  since  that 
year. 


COMPARATIVE  EXPECTATION  OP  LIFE  FOR  WHITE  AND  CGI 

ORED 

PERSONS  IN  FOUR  SOUTHERN  CITIES  IN  1880.1 

Iwashingt'n,  D.C.i  Baltimore,  Md.     Charleston,  S.  C. 

New  Orleans,  La. 

AGES. 

1880. 

1880.              !              iSSo. 

iSSo. 

Whites.        Col'd. 

Whites. 

Col'd. 

Whites. 

Col'd. 

Whites. 

Col'd. 

Years.        Years. 

Years. 

Years. 

Years. 

Years. 

Years. 

Years. 

0  .     .     . 

42.36       25.25 

38.18 

23.26 

38.34 

21.82 

38.10 

25-56 

5  • 

51.85       44.48 

51-72 

44-32 

48.10 

40.68 

47.88 

40.76 

10  . 

48.71       42.13 

49.66 

42.40 

44.24 

37-96 

44-16 

37-50 

20  . 

40.42      35-34 

41.50 

36.62 

36.24 

31.60 

35-80 

3063 

30- 

33.64      30.22 

34-74 

30.64 

30.08 

27-14 

29-35 

26.98 

40. 

27.36      24.63 

28.05 

24.68 

24.60 

21.51 

23.78 

22.49 

50. 

21.06      18.90 

21.27 

18.92 

18.80 

15-72 

18.62 

17.78 

60. 

15.01      13.70 

15-01 

13-42 

13-14 

11.04 

13-58 

13.22 

70. 

9.98        9- '9 

10.24 

8.87 

8.81 

7.90 

9-43 

898 

80. 

6.70        6.37 

7.14 

6.38 

6.59 

5-94 

6.73 

6.46 

'  Census  of  1880,  Vol  XII,  pages  773-783- 


This  table  shows  the  expectation  of  life  at  ten  selected 
ages  for  both  races,  in  representative  southern  cities, 
bringing  out  in  a  forcible  way  the  difference  in    the 


58  American  Econoytiic  Association. 

vitality  of  the  two  races.  In  the  District  of  Columbia 
a  white  person  at  the  age  of  thirty  for  instance  would 
have  a  chance  of  living  about  three  and  a  half  years 
longer  than  a  colored  person  of  the  same  age  ;  in  Balti- 
more about  four  years,  and  in  New  Orleans  two  and  a 
half  years.  But  this  is  an  age  at  which  the  general 
mortality  is  very  low  for  both  races.  At  all  the  earlier 
ages  the  differences  are  of  course  much  greater.  The 
excessive  mortality  at  the  very  early  ages  of  course  af- 
fects the  mortality  at  the  older  ages  by  reducing  the  dif- 
ferences between  the  two  races.  For  the  periods  of  old 
age  the  expectation  of  life  is  almost  the  same  for  both 
races.  A  clear  idea  as  to  the  effect  of  an  excessive  mor- 
tality is  brought  out  by  means  of  a  life  table  showing 
the  number  surviving  at  various  ages  out  of  a  million 
born.  Such  a  table  has  been  abstracted  from  Dr.  Bil- 
lings' report  on  the  vital  statistics  of  the  tenth  census, 
those  for  the  eleventh  census  not  having  as  yet  been 
made  public. 

COMPARATIVE   APPROXIMATE   IJFE   TABLES    FOR    FOUR    vSOUTHERN 

CITIES,  SHOWING  THE  NUMBER  OF  SURVIVORS 

AT  SELECTED  AGES. 

(Abstracted  from  the  Report  of  the  loth  Census,  Vol.  XII,  pp.  773- 7S3.) 

Washington,  D.  C.  Baltimore,  Md. 

1880.  1S80. 

Ages.                                           Whites.               Colored.  Whites.            Colored. 

o 1,000,000        1,000,000  1,000,000        1,000,000 

5  739,661             499,169  664,869             458,964 

25  662,723             401,081  579.191             361,966 

45 516,330             291,601  468,126             268,706 

65 326,461              158,444  301,471             150,481 

85 49.104               17,807  48,985                15.676 

Charleston,  S.  C.  New  Orleans,  La. 

O T, 000, 000  1,000,000  1,000,000  1,000,000 

5  715.404  465,753  712,193  548,488 

25  635,585  357.608  634,301  426,354 

45 455,493  249,404  448,348  271,075 

65 258,954  105,958  238,176  134.717 

85 24,609  6,405  34,754  14,990 


Race  Tfaiis  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     59 

This  table  reads  that  in  the  city  of  Washington  ont 
of  a  million  whites  born  during  the  year  1880,  739,661 
will  survive  to  their  fifth  year,  while  only  499,169  of  the 
colored  population  will  survive,  a  difference  of  240,492 
lives.  This  represents  an  enormous  economic  loss. 
For  if  we  take  into  consideration  the  number  of  years  of 
life  lost  through  such  an  excessive  mortality,  we  have  a 
fair  means  of  estimating  the  resulting  economic  loss. 
It  would  be  impossible  to  consider  this  point  at  length, 
but  I  subjoin  a  brief  abstract  of  the  life  table  of  Char- 
leston for  1880,  which  shows  for  both  races,  with  dis- 
tinction of  sex,  the  number  of  years  of  life  remaining  at 
various  ages. 

NUMBER    OF    YEARS    OF    LIFE     REMAINING    TO     SURVIVORS    AT 
SEI^ECTED   AGES,  ACCORDING  TO   COI,OR  AND  SEX. 


Charleston,  S.  C— 

1880. 

White 

Colored. 

Ages. 

Males. 

Females. 

Males. 

Females. 

10  .    . 

13,874,245 

17.070,833 

8,273,445 

8,400,897 

25  •    • 

9,077,720 

11,803,905 

5,213,560 

5,397,550 

45  •    • 

4,025,910 

5,973,925 

2.199,075 

2,396,175 

*           65  .    . 

955,885 

1,804,695 

431.860 

530,400 

The  economic  loss  involved  in  such  a  great  waste 
of  life  is  difficult  to  estimate,  but  it  seems  clear  that  a 
race  which  has  only  about  one  half  of  the  effective 
economic  force  of  another  race  must  needs  prove  more 
of  an  economic  hindrance  than  a  help.  Even  if  the  race 
were  gifted  with  an  abnormally  high  birth  rate,  which 
it -is  not,  it  could  not  overcome  the  effect  of  the  high 
death  rate.  This  abnormal  condition  will  in  part  explain 
the  large  amount  of  poor  relief  and  the  large  number  of 
pauper  funerals  of  colored  persons  in  the  large  cities  of 
the  South.  It  does  not  come  within  the  province  of  this 
paper  to  discuss  the  purely  economic  aspects  of  the  race 
tendencies  of  the  colored  population,  but  I  have  touched 


6o  American  Ecojioviic  Association. 

upon  this  point  as  one  which  is  deserving  of  a  more 
careful  consideration  by  the  student  of  social  and 
economic  problems  than  has  thus  far  been  devoted  to  it. 
I  have  thus  far  discussed  only  the  purely  statistical 
aspects  of  the  excessive  mortality  of  the  colored  race  as 
contrasted  with  that  of  the  white  population.  I  have 
shown  by  indisputable  evidence,  collected  from  all  sec- 
tions of  the  country  in  which  the  colored  element  is 
present  in  sufHcient  numbers,  and  from  which  informa- 
tion has  been  obtainable,  first,  that  the  colored  race  is 
subject  to  an  excessive  mortality  in  the  cities  of  the 
North  and  West  as  well  as  in  the  South  ;  second,  that 
the  mortality  rate  of  the  race  is  on  the  increase  ;  third, 
that  the  excess  of  mortality  of  the  negroes  over  whites 
is  greatest  for  the  youngest  generation,  and  least  for  the 
generation  which  grew  up  largely  under  slavery  influ- 
ences ;  fourth,  that  the  increase  in  the  mortality  rate 
affects  principally  the  earlier  ages,  and  that  in  conse- 
quence the  number  surviving  to  the  productive  and  re- 
productive ages  is  far  less,  proportionately,  for  the  colored 
population  than  for  the  white  ;  fifth,  that  to  this  ab- 
normal condition  the  constant  lowering  of  the  decennial 
rate  of  increase  for  the  colored  population  must  be  at- 
tributed, which  tendency  if  persisted  in  must  lead  to  a 
decrease  in  the  population  at  an  ever  increasing  rate  ; 
and  finally,  that  the  economic  loss  involved  in  so  high  a 
mortality  must  prove  a  serious  hindrance  to  the  economic 
development  of  the  sections  of  the  country  or  of  the 
large  cities  in  which  the  colored  population  is  found  in 
large  numbers. 

Causes  of  the  Mortality. 

Having  shown  the  general  movement  of  the  popula- 
tion, and  the  comparative  mortality,  I  may  now  consider 
the  causes  of  the  high  mortality,  with  the  two-fold  pur- 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Ncg7'o.     6i 

pose  of  tracing  the  physiological  history  and  consequent 
race  traits,  and  showing  the  race  tendencies  brought  out 
by  a  study  of  the  causes  of  disease  and  mortality,  its 
prevalence  at  various  periods  of  time,  and  in  different  sec- 
tions of  the  country.  To  do  the  subject  complete  justice 
is  impossible  here,  and  only  the  most  important  and  in- 
teresting phases  can  be  discussed.  There  is  a  large 
body  of  facts,  although  less  than  I  expected  to  find, 
which  is  available  for  the  study  of  the  comparative 
susceptibility  to  disease  and  death,  for  the  two  races. 

It  was  a  frequent  argument  with  southern  physicians, 
before  the  war,  that  no  northern  or  European  physician 
could  successfully  treat  a  colored  person  in  view  of  the 
radical  differences  existing  between  the  two  races  and 
the  consequent  difference  in  results  from  medical  treat- 
ment, the  negro  yielding  less  readily  to  such  treatment 
than  the  white  man.  It  was  argued,  and  with  consider- 
able force,  that  physicians  who  were  to  practice  among 
the  colored  population  should  be  especially  educated  for 
their  work. 

Since  the  war  the  medical  journals  often  urge  the 
need  of  colored  physicians.  The  Medical  News  (Octo- 
ber 6,  1894)  declared  that  "  although  some  forty  million 
dollars  had  been  spent  in  the  literary  education  of  the 
colored  race  since  the  war,  it  was  doubtful  whether  forty 
cents  had  been  spent  for  medical  education  for  colored 
men,"  The  News  referred  to  the  fact  that  probably  not 
one-half  of  the  colored  population  receive  medical  atten- 
tion, and  maintained  that  a  liberal  proportion  of  colored 
physcians  would  materially  alter  the  present  condition 
and  its  consequent  waste  of  life. 

As  to  the  amount  of  money  spent  in  the  education  of 
colored  young  men  for  medical  work,  I  may  state  that 
according  to  the  official  reports  of  the   Bureau  of  Edu- 


62  American  Economic  Association. 

cation  for  the  year  1891-92,  there  were  in  this  country 
five  institutions  for  the  education  of  colored  persons  in 
the  professions  of  medicine,  dentistry  and  phannacy, 
with  a  total  attendance  of  457  pupils.  The  amount  ex- 
pended on  these  institutions  is  not  stated,  but  it  must 
be  considerable,  at  least  a  good  deal  more  than  forty 
cents. 

As  to  the  second  point,  I  caimot  do  better  than  to 
quote  from  the  reports  of  the  health  officer  of  Savannah 
for  recent  years,  in  which  the  subject  of  non-medical 
attendance  of  colored  people  is  fully  discussed.  Re- 
ferring to  the  excessive  mortality  of  colored  children 
the  report  says  :  "  The  neglect  of  children  by  negro 
parents  is  so  often  apparent  to  your  health  officer  that 
he  must  call  your  attention  again  to  the  matter.  In 
many  instances  they  will  not  call  in  a  physician  when 
the  city  provides  them  free  medical  attendance.'"  In  his 
report  for  the  following  year  Dr.  Brunner  refers  again 
to  the  same  subject  as  follows : 

"  Fifty  per  cent,  of  the  children  who  die  never  receive 
medical  attention.  In  many  instances  the  parents  will 
not  call  in  a  physician,  claiming  the  children  died  be- 
fore they  could  go  for  a  physician,  although  a  cross  ex- 
amination will  always  show  that  the  children  had  been 
sick  from  two  to  ten  days  before  they  died."'  Again  in 
his  report  for  1893  :  "  For  years  the  city  of  Savannah 
has  furnished  gratuitous  medical  advice  and  medicine, 
and  the  negroes  persistently  refuse  to  accept  them,  at 
least  for  their  children.  Can  the  city  do  more?  Is 
there  any  other  move  to  make  save  that  of  appeal  to  the 
law  to  force  parents  to  care  for  their  offspring?"'^ 

And  finally  in  the  report  for  1894  :    "  We  must  have 

^Annual  report,  City  of  Savannah,  1890,  p.  125. 
"^ Ibid.,  1891,  p.  157.        ^ Ibid.,  1893,  p.  160. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    63 

stringent  laws  covering  the  criminal  neglect  of  negro 
parents  who  allow  their  children  to  sicken  and  die  with- 
out making  an  effort  to  obtain  the  services  of  those 
physicians  who  are  paid  by  the  city  to  give  such  people 
gratuitous  medical  attention.  The  appointment  of  a 
negro  physician  may  do  some  good ;  it  will  be  an  ex- 
periment, but  one  worth  trying."' 

In  other  cities  of  the  South  the  conditions  are  more 
or  less  the  same.  The  claim  that  colored  physicians  are 
more  appreciated  than  whites  is  not  supported  by  the 
facts.  Colored  physicians  charge  less  and  give  more 
credit,  and  largely  for  this  reason  gain  practice  among 
the  members  of  their  own  race  ;  but  whenever  accessi- 
ble a  white  physician  will  be  preferred.  Such  at  least 
has  been  my  observation. 

The  indifference  as  to  medical  attendance  in  cases  of 
illness  of  their  children  is  due  to  ignorance  rather  than  to 
criminal  neglect.  The  negro  has  a  habit  of  dosing  him- 
self and  his  children  on  every  possible  occasion,  and  the 
drugging  of  infants  with  paregoric  and  even  with 
laudanum  is  very  frequent,  the  use  of  castor  oil  being 
also  extremely  liberal ;  hence  the  neglect  to  call  a  physi- 
cian, even  when  the  city  provides  one  free  of  charge. 
In  Richmond,  Va.,  the  percentage  of  cases  of  non-medi- 
cal attendance  is  considerably  less  than  in  Savannah, 
and  the  difference  may  be  almost  solely  attributed  to  a 
higher  degree  of  education,  which  exhibits  itself  in  the 
management    of    every     day  affairs.     The    number    of 

'The  annual  report  of  the  health  officer  for  1S95  contains  the  fol- 
lowing reference  to  the  result  of  this  experiment  :  "  One  of  these 
physicians  (for  the  care  of  the  indigent  sick)  is  a  colored  physician 
who  was  appointed  with  a  view  of  getting  at  the  class  of  unfortunate 
negroes  who,  even  when  well  are  unable  to  take  care  of  themselves. 
The  appointment  is  a  satisfactory  one.  Proof  of  which  is  in  evidence 
from  his  weekly  reports  rendered  to  this  office."  (Annual  reports, 
City  of  Savannah,   1895,  pp.  213-14.) 


64  Amcn'cafi  Economic  Association. 

colored  physicians  in  Virginia  is  very  large,  and  a  few 
years  ago  the  Petersburg  Daily  Herald.,  a  race  organ, 
suggested  that  they  form  a  state  association.  The  high 
death  rate  of  the  colored  population  of  southern  cities 
cannot,  therefore,  fairly  be  attributed  to  the  want  of 
doctors  either  white  or  colored. 

In  some  of  the  West  India  islands  practically  the 
whole  of  the  population  are  without  medical  attendance 
in  case  of  illness  or  death.  In  Jamaica  for  instance, 
75  per  cent,  of  the  deaths  during  1894  were  registered 
without  a  medical  certificate.  In  some  of  the  parishes 
of  the  island  the  per  cent,  of  non-medical  cases  is  even 
greater.  The  registrar,  ]\Ir.  S.  P.  Smeeton,  in  his  report 
for  1895  observes,  however,  that  in  the  city  of  Kingston 
the  percentage  of  such  cases  is  much  less,  and  concludes 
that  "  the  lack  of  professional  testimony  is  not  altogether 
attributable  to  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  the  people  to 
resort  to  the  doctor's  aid,  but  to  some  considerable  extent 
may  be  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  such  assist- 
ance at  a  cost  within  their  means  and  at  a  distance 
within  their  reach. "^ 

This  conclusion  would  seem  to  be  fairly  warranted  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  the  number  of  physicians  in  the 
island  is  very  small.  In  1849,  according  to  the  report 
of  the  Registrar  General  for  1889,  the  number  of 
registered  physicians  was  126,  as  against  85  in  1889,  of 
whom  9  were  absent  from  the  colony.  Thus  in  spite  of 
a  considerable  increase  in  the  population  the  number  of 
physicians  has  actually  decreased.  The  _  evil  therefore 
is  one  which  cannot  be  eradicated  without  a  considerable 
improvement  in  the  moral  and  economic  condition  of 
the  population,  together  with  an  increase  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  plain  everyday  duties  of  life,  such  as 

'  Report  of  the  Registrar-Geueral  for  1S95,  p.  3. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Neg7-o.     65 

regulates  the  life  of  the  white  poi3ulatioii  with   which 
they  come  in  daily  contact. 

In  previons  tables  the  excessive  mortality  of  infants 
and  children  has  been  fnlly  brought  out ;  and  the  re- 
peated reference  to  the  subject  by  the  health  officer  of 
Savannah  and  other  southern  cities,  makes  it  advisable 
that  the  causes  of  child  mortality  should  be  discussed 
before  any  other.  The  subject  divides  itself  naturally 
into  two  parts  :  first,  premature  and  still  births,  and 
second,  deaths  after  birth.  As  regards  the  former  our 
information  is  necessarily  incomplete.  All  statistics 
dealing  with  still-births  of  the  colored  race  must  for 
many  years  be  wanting  in  completeness.  Even  for  the 
white  population  the  information  is  wanting  in  ac- 
curac}-.  But  the  mortality  rate  for  the  two  races  is 
perhaps  sufficiently  brought  out  in  the  two  following 
tables  for  Washington  and  Baltimore  to  show  the 
comparative  mortality  from  premature  and  still  births 
for  the  white  and  colored  populations. 


DEATHS  FROM  PREMATURE  BIRTH  AMONG  THE  WHITE  AND  COLORED 

POPULATIONS  OF  WASHINGTON,  D.  C,  AND  BALTIMORE,  MD.,  1890. 

(Per  100,000  of  Population  at  all  Ages.) 

White.  Colored. 

Washington,  D.  C 32.97  67.37 

BaUimore,  Md 45-76  69.84 

DEATHS  FROM  STILL-BIRTH. 
(Per  100,000  of  Population  under  one  year.) 

White.  Colored. 

Washington,  D.  C 6.528  20.152 

Baltimore,  'Md 7.024  16.988 


The  two  tables  show  practically  the  same  result  as 
regards  the  excessive  pre-natal  mortality  among  the 
colored  people  in  these  two  cities,  and  the  significant 
fact  is  brought  out  that  the  inordinate  mortalitv  of  the 


66  Americayi  Economic  Association. 

race  at  all  ages  affects  pre-natal  existence  in  the  same 
manner.  As  to  the  causes  of  infant  and  child  mortality 
we  have  some  valuable  information  in  two  tables  ab- 
stracted from  the  report  of  Dr.  Billings  on  the  vital  sta- 
tistics of  Baltimore  and  Washington,  from  which  report 
the  preceding  tables  also  have  been  compiled.  The 
causes  taken  into  consideration  are  those  which  most 
seriously  affect  the  duration  of  life  during  infancy  and 
early  childhood. 

DEATHS  FROM   DEBILITY,  INANITION  AND  ATROPHY.' 
(Per  100,000  of  population  under  i  year.) 


White. 
Washington             4. 181 

Colored. 

10.045 

11.884 

Baltimore 4.800 

DEATHS  FROM  DIARRHCEAL  DISEASE. 
(Per  100,000  of  population  under  i  and  under  5  years.) 

0— I 
White.         Colored. 
Washington.  .    .    .          6.220         11.952 
Baltimore 7.732         14-565 

0-5 
White.        Colored. 

1-737          3-299 

2.157         3-895 

1  vital  Statistics  of  Washington  and  Baltimore,  iSqo,  pp.  28  and  29. 

The  mortality  from  diarrhoeal  diseases  is  largely  sub- 
ject to  sanitary  conditions,  which  no  doubt  hive  some 
influence  in  producing  a  negro  mortality  rate  nearly  a 
hundred  per  cent,  higher  than  that  of  the  whites.  Deaths 
from  inanition,  debility  and  atrophy  are  largely  the  re- 
sult of  inferior  organisms  and  constitutional  weakness, 
which  as  we  shall  see  later  on  is  one  of  the  most  pro- 
nounced race  characteristics  of  the  American  negro.  The 
terms,  however,  cover  unrecognized  consumption,  scrofu- 
la and  other  tubercular  diseases.  As  it  has  w^ell  been  said 
by  a  close  observer  of  negro  mortality  in  the  West  Indies, 
Dr.  McHattie,  the  registrar-general  of  Antigua,  "  These 
are  not  diseases  at  all  but  merely   names,  all  of  which 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Ncfrro.     67 

have  nearly  the  same  meaning  and  indicate  that  91 
infants  died  in  Antigna  in  1889  f^O'"  diseases  inherited 
from  their  parents,  who  in  the  majority  of  these  cases 
are  broken  down  by  disease  conseqnent  on  vice,  im- 
morality and  debauchery,  and  who  impart  such  en- 
feebled constitutions  to  their  offspring  that  they  cannot 
live  a  few  months  even  under  the  most  favorable  cir- 
cumstances." 

The  registrar-general  of  Trinidad  in  quoting  the 
above  remarks  agrees  that  they  are  as  applicable  to  the 
island  of  Trinidad,  and  on  the  general  subject  of  infant 
mortality  quotes  further  from  the  report  of  Dr.  McHat- 
tie  :  "  Since  1884  there  has  been  an  increase  of  nine  per 
cent,  in  the  mortality  from  the  causes  under  considera- 
tion (inanition,  debility,  and  atrophy)  and  nothing  will 
materially  lessen  the  number  of  deaths  of  infancy  but 
a  change  in  the  moral  condition  of  our  people,  and  this 
change  under  existing  conditions  is  hopeless,  impos- 
sible. An  improvement  in  the  dwellings  of  our  labor- 
ing population  must  precede  any  hope  of  'moral  im- 
provement, for  where  marriage  is  ignored,  and  where 
men,  women  and  children  are  crowded  together  in  one 
small  room  for  all  domestic  purposes,  day  and  night, 
the  possibility  of  any  moral  sentiment  existing  among 
those  who  live  in  this  manner  is  precluded,  and  children 
growing  up  in  the  midst  of  such  surroundings  cannot 
possibly  have  any  sense  of  shame  or  decency  ;  so  that 
the  evils  of  the  system  are  perpetuated.  The  chance 
therefore  of  materially  lessening  the  death  rate  from  the 
causes  just  mentioned    seem  very  remote." 

Mr.  H.  J.  Clark,  the  learned  registrar-general  and 
superintendent  of  the  census  of  Trinidad  for  1891,  does 
not  fully  agree  with  Dr.  ]McHattie  as  to  the  applicability 
of  the  above  remarks  to  conditions  affecting-  child   life 


68  American  Economic  Association. 

ill  Trinidad,  but  he  attributes  it  to  the  same  cause  as 
Dr.  Bruuuer  of  Savannah,  /.  e.^  that  the  principal  cause 
of  the  difference  between  the  coolie  and  Creole  popula- 
tions (which  is  here  to  be  observed  as  well  as  everywhere 
else)  is  due  to  neglect  and  inattention  on  the  part  of  the 
Creole  parents,  partly,  he  regrets  to  say,  to  wilful  or 
thoughtless  neglect,  and  partly  unavoidable,  owing  to 
the  long  absence  of  many  of  the  parents  in  the  pursuit 
of  their  daily  occupations.' 

It  cannot  be  argued  that  the  coolie  population  is  better 
off  in  either  the  material  good  things  of  life,  as  Professor 
Ely  puts  it,  or  from  a  sanitary  or  any  other  standpoint. 
In  fact,  I  understand,  and  have  seen  some  figures  in  proof, 
that  the  creole  of  Trinidad  is  paid  a  slightly  higher 
wage  for  the  same  labor  than  is  paid  the  coolie  immi- 
grant. It  may  be  of  interest  here  to  show  the  compara- 
tive mortality  of  the  creole  and  coolie  population  in 
this  island. 

COMPARATIVE  INFANT  MORTALITY  AMONG  THE  GENERAL  (NATIVE) 

AND  THE  EAST  INDIAN    (COOLIE)  POPULATIONS,  1889-1890.' 

(Rates  per  1,000  living  births.) 


1S89  1890. 

Creole  population 199-75  185.83 

East  Indian  (Coolie  population)  .    .  134.28  134-92 


•  Report  of  the  Registrar-General  of  Trinidad  for  1890,  p.  17. 

The  difference  in  mortality  of  the  two  races  is  not  so 
pronounced  as  between  the  white  and  colored  populations 
of  American  cities,  but  is  sufficiently  large  to  establish 
substantially  the  same  race  tendency  to  permature  death 
among  the  colored  population  of  the  West  Indies  that 
we  meet  with  among  the  colored  population  of  this 
countr}'.  In  some  of  the  British  colonies,  Guiana  for 
instance,  the  infant  mortality  is  much  higher,  being  re- 
ported at  237  deaths  under  one  year  per  i,ooo  births. 

^Report  of  the  Acting  Registrar-General  of  Trinidad  for  1890,  p.  iS. 


Race  Traits  and  Toidcncics  of  the  American  Negro.     69 

In  British  Guiana  we  arc  informed  conditions  exist  simi- 
lar to  those  we  have  met  with  in  Antigua,  Trinidad  and 
our  Southern  cities,  namely,  extreme  neglect  on  the 
part  of  the  parents  of  colored  children. 

According  to  a  report  of  a  former  United  States  Con- 
sul at  Georgetown,  British  Guiana,  the  children  of  the 
colored  population  of  that  colony  "  suffer  greatly  from 
hunger,  rarely  getting  more  than  one  meal  a  day.'"  In 
St.  Lucia  the  infant  mortality  is  reported  as  221  per 
1,000  births.  In  both  of  the  latter  colonies  the  pre-natal 
mortality,  (/.  ^.,  still-births),  is  very  great. 

The  facts  here  brought  together  for  southern  cities  as 
well  as  for  the  islands  of  the  West  Indies  so  fully  sup- 
port each  other  as  to  warrant  the  conclusion  that  the 
excessive  infant  mortality  among  the  colored  poj)ulation 
is  largely  the  result  of  individual  neglect,  as  well  as  in 
part  due  to  inherited  organic  weakness,  and  only  to  a 
limited  extent  to  the  conditions  of  life. 

Considering  now  in  particular  the  principal  diseases 
to  which  the  negro  is  liable,  and  which  will  more  clearly 
than  any  other  series  of  facts  bring  out  his  race  traits 
and  tendencies,  we  shall  first  have  to  consider  consump- 
tion as  the  most  important  of  all.  A  volume  could 
easily  be  written  on  this  one  disease  and  its  influence  on 
the  destiny  of  the  colored  race.  Few  writers  on  negro 
mortality  have  failed  to  discourse  upon  the  excessive 
mortality  due  to  this  cause,  and  but  few  have  failed  to 
recognize  the  fact  that  this  most  dreaded  of  all  diseases 
is  constantly  on  the  increase  among  the  colored  popula- 
tion of  this  country.  The  opinion  of  southern  physicians 
who  practiced  among  negroes  before  the  war  was  almost 
unanimous  that  consumption  was  less  frequent  among 
the  colored  population  than  among  the  whites,     I  am 

'Consular  report  for  September,  1892,  page  90. 


70  American  Economic  Association. 

able  to  furnish  statistical  support  for  this  opinion  by  a 
table  of  comparative  death  rates  from  this  disease  for 
Charleston,  for  the  periods  1822-48  and  1865-94.  The 
rates  have  been  calculated  in  the  same  way  as  the 
general  death  rates;  but  in  their  proportions  to  the 
hundred  thousand  of  mean  population,  to  make  the 
respective  rates  more  intelligible. 

CONSUMPTION  IN  CHARLESTON,  S.  C.  1822-1894. 
(Death  rates  per  ic»,ooo  of  Population.) 

Period.  White.  Colored. 

1822-30 457  447 

1831-40 331  320 

1841-48 268  266 

1865-74 19S  411 

1875-84 255  668 

1885-94 189  627 

1822-1848 347        342 

1865-1894 213        576 

According  to  this  table  the  mortality  from  consump- 
tion has  almost  steadily  decreased  for  the  white  popula- 
tion. It  decreased  for  the  colored  population  from  1822 
to  1848  at  almost  the  same  rate  as  for  the  white  popula- 
tion;  but  since  emancipation  the  rate  has  largely  in- 
creased and  is  now  more  than  three  times  as  great  as  for 
the  white  population.  Comparing  the  former  period 
with  the  latter  we  find  that  while  the  white  mortality 
has  decreased  134  per  100,000  the  colored  mortality  has 
increased  234  per  100,000.  This  change  in  the  suscep- 
tibility of  the  colored  race  to  consumption,  if  supported 
by  other  facts,  may  be  considered,  next  to  the  excess  in 
infant  mortality,  a  distinct  race  characteristic,  and  one 
which  must  needs  have  the  most  pronounced  effect  upon 
the  numerical  as  well  as  the  social  and  moral  progress  of 
the  race. 

Gould  in  his  classical  work  on  the  "  Statistics  of  the 


Race  Traits  and  Tcndc7ia'es  of  the  American  Negro.     71 

Sanitary  Commission,"  observed  "  the  inordinate  mor- 
tality and  singular  susceptibility  to  fatal  diseases  ex- 
hibited by  the  colored  troops.'"  Unfortunately  Mr. 
Gould  was  not  permitted  to  make  use  of  the  available 
material  for  a  study  of  the  disease  prevalence  among  the 
colored  troops.  We  have,  however,  in  the  "  Medical  and 
Surgical  History  of  the  War  "  a  mine  of  valuable  infor- 
mation which  will  afford  the  diligent  student  of  the  in- 
fluence of  race  on  mortality  the  most  exceptional  oppor- 
tunities. Another  work  of  the  greatest  possible  value  is 
the  report  of  Dr.  Baxter  on  the  "  Anthropological  Statis- 
tics of  the  United  States  Army,"  which  presents  the  re- 
sults of  measurements  of  over  a  million  of  recruits  dur- 
ing the  war.  The  two  works  combined  furnish  data  for 
a  concise  description  of  the  colored  male  at  the  time  of 
the  war,  and,  what  is  of  most  importance,  during  the 
war.  To  this  we  can  add  the  medical  reports  of  Dr.  Rob- 
ert Reyburn  while  in  charge  of  the  Hospitals  of  the  Freed- 
men's  Bureau,  in  operation  for  the  period  1865-72.  We 
can  therefore  trace  the  pathological  history  of  the  col- 
ored race  during  the  period  of  transition  from  slavery  to 
freedom,  with  a  degree  of  accuracy  unequaled  in  the  his- 
tory of  any  other  race. 

The  table  below  shows  the  number  of  rejections  per 
thousand  recruits  examined  for  enlistment  into  the 
army  during  the  war  period  1861-65.  The  rates  are 
based  on  examinations  of  315,620  white  and  25,828  col- 
ored recruits. 

^  "  Statistics  of  the  Sanitary  Commission,"  page  602. 


72  American  Economic  Association. 

NUMBER    OF    RETECTED    RECRUITS    PER    i,ooo    EXAMINED    FOR 
SPECIFIED  DISEASES.! 


White        Colored 
Recruits.     Recruits.  Excess  o 

All  specified  diseases.    .....  264.1  170.2    White  over  Col'd 

Rheumatisin 4.8  3.7  " 

Consumption 11. 4  4.2  " 

Disease  of  Nervous   system.    ...  11. 5  7.8  " 

"      Circulatory     "      ....  25.5  12.2  " 

"      Respiratory    "      ....  10.  i  4,2  " 

"      Digestive        "      ....  S4.3  50.1 

"      Urinary            "      ....  2.5  .7  " 

"      Generative     "      ....  6.4  4.4  " 

"      Organs  of  Locomotion  .  30.4  1S.7  " 

"      Cellular-tissue .9  .4  " 

Hernia 39.8  38.3 

Syphilis 3.8  10.7    Col'd  over 

Scrofula 2.8  3.8 

The  table  includes  rejections  for  various  causes  and 
groups  of  causes  and  will  be  referred  to  in  connection 
with  the  discus.sion  of  other  diseases  which  is  to  follow.  It 
is  shown  that  out  of  a  thousand  white  applicants  for  en- 
listment 264  were  rejected  for  diseases  in  general,  while 
1 1.4  were  rejected  for  consumption.  Among  the  colored 
applicants  only  170  were  rejected  for  diseases  in  general 
and  4.2  for  consumption.  This  would  prove  that  before 
the  war  the  colored  males  of  military  age  were  far  less  lia- 
ble to  consumption  than  the  whites  and  the  result  would 

1  Medical  statistics  of  the  Provost-Marshal  General's  Bureau,  Vol.  II,  page  431, 
etc. 

There  is  evidently  an  error  in  the  tables  of  the  first  volume  of  the 
Provost-Marshal  Geneial's  report,  in  which,  on  chart  IV,  the  rate  of 
rejections  of  native  whites  for  consumption  is  given  as  18.4  per  1,000 
examined,  and  for  colored,  7.04.  On  page  431,  Vol.  II,  of  the  same 
work,  where  the  original  figures  are  given,  the  rate  for  native  whites 
is  given  as  11.4,  and  for  colored  4.8.  The  latter  are  evidently  correct, 
since  the  following  are  the  facts  from  which  the  rates  were  calculated  : 
Number  of  whites  examined,  315,620 ;  rejected  for  consumption, 
3,605;  rate  per  i,oOO,  11. 4.  Number  of  colored  examined,  25,828; 
rejected  for  consumption,  108;  rate  per  1,000  examined,  4.1S.  I  have 
therefore  substituted  the  rates  given  on  page  431,  Vol.  II,  in  place  of 
those  first  given  as  found  on  chart  IV,  Volume  I. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     73 

support  the  Charleston  figures  showing  consumption  to 
be  about  equally  prevalent  among  the  whites  and  colored. 
Since  the  men  examined  were  drawn  from  the  popula- 
tion at  large  and  in  many,  perhaps  the  majority  of  in- 
stances, from  the  country  districts,  the  excess  of  con- 
sumption among  the  whites  would  seem  plausible.  Dr. 
Buckner,  who  examined  over  1,600  negroes,  reports 
that  "  except  for  being  over  age  or  under,  very  few  v/ere 
rejected,  not  perhaps  more  than  ten  per  cent.  Tuber- 
culosis is  very  rare  among  them  ;  and  contrary  to  the' 
generally  received  opinions  in  the  slave  states,  they  are 
not,  as  far  as  my  experience  goes,  more  subject  to  scrof- 
ulosis  than  other  people.'" 

Other  opinions  as  to  the  comparative  infrequency  of 
consumption  among  the  colored  population  before  the 
war  could  be  quoted,  but  would  only  prove  repetitions 
of  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Buckner,  who,  as  examining  sur- 
geon of  the  district  of  Kentucky  had  most  excellent  op- 
portunities for  observation. 

If  we  now  consider  the  mortuary  experience  of  the 
colored  troops  during  the  war  we  shall  find  that  the  sub- 
sequent experience  did  not  justify  the  sanguine  anticipa- 
tions of  those  who  had  previously  pronounced  the  negro 
in  every  way  the  equal  if  not  the  superior  of  the  white 
for  military  service.  ; 

I  Report  of  Provost-Marshal  General,  vol.  I,  p.  379. 


74  American  Economic  Association. 

AVERAGE  ANNUAL  KATES  OF  DISEASE  AND   DEATH  IN  THE  U.  S. 
ARMY  DURING  THE  WAR.'    (Per  i.ooo  of  mean  strength.) 

White  Troops.  Colored  Troops. 

(1861-65)  (1863-65) 

Cases.  Deaths.  Cases.  Deaths. 

Average  annual  rates  for  all  diseases,     243464  53.48  3298.96  143.40 

Continued  fevers 40.29  II. 60  22.99  12.45 

Typho- malarial  fevers 22.38  1.68  41.05  6.78 

Malarial  fevers 522.34  3.36  829.58  10.03 

Diarrhoea  and   dysentery 711.46  15.62  839.38  35.27 

Eruptive  fevers 46.61  4.50  92.29  18.36 

Syphylis,  Gonnorhoea  and  Orchitis,         82.04  .06  77-74  .17 

Rheumatism,  acute  and  chronic  .    .        144-33  .20  178.54  1.23 

Consumption 6.06  2.18  7.26  6.31 

Disease  of  the  nervous  system  .    .    .          76.31  1.84  130.51  4.25 

"         "        Circulatory   system,          11.27  .69  850  2.44 

Respiratory       "                261. So  7.40  354-74  32-35 

"        Digestive           "        .        252.79  1.71  295.92  5.06 

Urino-genital  disease 13.41  .18  16.45  -68 

This  table  shows  disease  prevalence  and  consequent 
mortality  from  various  causes  for  white  and  colored 
troops  per  1,000  of  mean  strength.  The  mean  strength 
of  white  soldiers  per  annum  was  431,237  while  the  mean 
strength  of  colored  soldiers  was  60,854.  The  numbers 
for  the  colored  troops  are  therefore  sufficiently  large  to 
compare  the  morbidity  and  mortality  of  white  and  col- 
ored troops.  According  to  this  table  the  average  mor- 
tality  of  white  troops  from  all  causes  was  53.48  per 
1,000  of  mean  strength,  while  for  the  colored  troops  the 
rate  w^as  143.40,  or  almost  three  times  as  great.  The 
number  of  cases  of  disease  was  2,435  P^^  1,000  of  mean 
strength  per  annum  for  the  white  troops,  and  3,299  per 
1,000  for  the  colored  troops. 

For  the  disease  under  consideration  the  death  rate  was 

•  Medical  and  Surgical  History  of  the  War  of  the  Rebelliou.  Medical  volume, 
part  Third,  page  13. 

In  army  medical  statistics  the  number  of  cases  of  attacks  or  such 
as  lead  to  hospital  attendance  is  recorded  and  calculated  on  the  mean 
strength.  Hence  if  the  rate  of  diseases  is  2,000  per  1,000  of  mean 
strength,  this  means  that  on  an  average  every  man  was  twice  tmder 
medical  observation  as  a  patient. 


Race  Trails  and  Toidcncies  of  the  American  Negro.     75 

2.18  per  1,000  for  the  white  troops  and  6.31  for  the  col- 
ored, ahnost  three  times  as  great.  The  disease  preval- 
ence due  to  this  cause  was  almost  the  same,  that  is,  6.06 
for  the  white  and  7.26  for  the  colored  troops.  The  latter 
figures  are  of  most  value  since  they  are  not  subject  to  an 
uncertain  element  affecting  the  mortality  rates,  namely, 
the  fact  that  on  account  of  the  homeless  and  poverty- 
stricken  conditions  of  the  colored  patients,  they  would 
remain  longer  in  the  hospitals  than  the  whites,  many  of 
the  latter  going  back  to  their  homes  as  soon  as  this 
could  be  done  without  risk.  The  figures,  however,  show 
clearly  that  consumption  was  slightly  more  prevalent  as 
a  disease  among  the  colored  troops  than  among  the 
whites  during  the  war.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  it  was 
shown  to  have  been  less  prevalent  previous  to  the  war 
we  must  believe  either  that  the  increased  prevalence  was 
caused  by  the  consequences  of  active  military  service  or 
that  it  was  present  in  its  incipient  stages  in  the  recruit 
who  succumbed  as  soon  as  he  was  exposed  to  the  hard- 
ships of  military  service.  Certain  aspects  of  this  impor- 
tant point  have  been  fully  discussed  in  the  able  and 
comprehensive  report  of  Dr.  Sanford  B.  Hunt  on  the 
"  Negro  as  a  Soldier,  "  which  was  prepared  for  the  use 
of  the  Sanitary  Commission,  and  was  reprinted  in  the 
Anthropological  Review  for  1869,  pp.  40-54. 

Dr.  Hunt  in  discussing  the  physical  and  pathological 
peculiarities  of  race  characteristics  of  the  negro  refers  to 
the  prevalence  of  consumption  and  its  remote  causes  as 
follows  :  "  \\\  pulmonary  diseases  we  find  the  only  exces- 
sive cause  of  mortality  in  the  negro  which  seems  to  be 
inherent  to  his  constitution.  .  .  .  While  it  must  be 
admitted  that  temporar}-  causes  [conditions  of  life]  had 
much  to  do  with  the  frequency  of  lung  diseases  among 
negroes,  it  will  still  be  found  that  they  are  vastly  more 


76  America 71  Economic  Association. 

liable  to  this  source  of  mortality  than  the  whites.  .  . 
It  was  found  that  when  fairly  enlisted,  clothed  and  fed, 
and  subjected  to  the  same  methods  of  life  as  the  white 
soldier,  he  still  exhibited  a  far  greater  ratio  of  deaths 
from  pulmonary  disease." 

"  We  are  compelled,  then,  to  believe  that,  independent 
of  external  causes,  [conditions  of  life]  the  negro  is  far 
more  susceptible  to  pulmonary  diseaSe  than  the  white. 
The  physiological  cause  of  this  cannot,  perhaps,  be 
demonstrated  ;  but  great  weight  is  due  to  the  hypothesis 
that  he  has  a  tropical  or  smaller  lung,  ...  A  care- 
ful series  of  weights  of  normal  lungs,  to  contrast  with 
weights  for  an  equal  number  of  whites,  is  a  great  desid- 
eratum. It  should  be  re-enforced  by  measurements  and 
the  volume  and  the  expansibility  of  the  living  thorax. 
At  present  we  are  only  able  to  suggest  that,  if  the  Arctic 
lung  requires  a  capacity  equal  to  the  absorption  of  oxygen 
enough  to  convert  into  carbonic  acid  gas  forty-five  to 
fifty  ounces  of  carbon  daily,  in  order  to  maintain  the 
animal  heat  in  these  cold  regions,  it  would  be  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  economy  of  nature  to  suppose  that  the 
oxygen  capacity  of  a  tropical  lung  would  be  smaller  than 
the  Arctic,  in  the  same  ratio  as  the  amount  of  carbon  re- 
quired to  maintain  animal  heat  in  the  sultr>'  climate  of 
the  Equator."  But  this,  Dr.  Hunt  adds,  "  is  not  yet 
proven."' 

We  have  therefore  a  perfect  agreement  of  the  highest 
authorities,  and  on  the  basis  of  undisputed  facts,  that 
during  the  war  consumption  was  relatively  more  preva- 
lent among  the  colored  troops  than  among  the  white. 
We  have  also  fairly  satisfactory  evidence  that  consump- 
tion was  comparatively  less  frequent  among  the  general 
colored  population  before  emancipation  ;    and,  in  con- 

'  Jourual  of  Anthropology,  (Loudou,  1S69,)  Volume  VII,  pp.  47-48 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     77 

nection  with  the  statistics  of  Charleston  showing  a  con- 
siderable increase  in  the  mortality  from  this  canse 
among  the  colored  population,  ^ye  are  forced  to  conclude 
that  the  inordinate  susceptibility  of  the  colored  race  to 
this  most  fatal  disease  is  of  comparatively  recent  growth. 
This  conclusion  is  further  supported  by  some  very 
valuable  statistics  of  the  comparative  mortality  of  the 
white  and  black  troops  in  the  West  Indies  and  on  the 
West  coast  of  Africa. 

The  information  I  have  been  able  to  obtain  covers 
two  periods,  one  for  the  years  181 7-1835,  and  the  other 
for  the  years  1886-92.  The  statistics  for  the  first 
period  were  collected  for  the  well  known  report  of 
Major  TuUoch,  while  the  more  recent  figures  have  been 
compiled  from  the  reports  of  the  medical  department  of 
the  British  Army. 

AVERAGE  RATE  OF  MORTALITY  FROM  DISEASES  OF  THE  I,UNG.S,  PER 
1,000  OF  MEAN  STRENGTH,  FOR  THE  PERIOD  1817-36.1 

Locality  White  troops  Colored  troops. 

West  Indies 10.4  16.5 

Sierra  Leone 4.9  6.3 

Cape  of  Good  Hope  .    .    .  2.4  3.9 

1  London  Quarterly  Review,  July,  1840,  pp.  73  and  80  ;  also  Journal  of  the  Royal 
Statistical  Society,  Vol.  I,  p.  129,  et  seq. 

The  West  Indies  show  the  largest  proportionate  negro 
mortality  from  respiratory  diseases,  while  in  the  native 
country  of  the  negro,  his  mortality,  though  slightly  in 
excess  of  that  of  the  white  troops,  is  less  thaii  one-fourth 
the  rate  prevailing  in  the  West  Indies.  Now  we  have 
considerable  testimony  to  the  effect  that  consumption 
among  the  natives  of  Africa  is  an  infrequent  disease. 
Indeed,  the  statistics  of  the  colonial  hospital  of  Sierra 
Leone  ^  for  the  period  of  1853-54  show  that  out  of  113 
deaths  from  all  causes  among  the  liberated  slaves  cared 

'  Journal,  Royal  Statistical  Society,  Vol.  XIX.,  pp.  60-81. 
6 


78  Avierican  Economic  Association. 

for  at  the  hospital,  only  four  were  from  consumption,  and 
ten  from  diseases  of  the  respiratory  organs.  The  ages  of 
the  patients  are  not  given,  but  they  were  probably 
largely  adults. 

The  very  small  number  of  deaths  from  diseases  of  the 
lungs  here  shown  for  the  native  African,  would  support 
the  view  of  M.  Quarterfrages,  that  consumption  among 
negroes  in  Africa  is  not  a  common  disease.'  If  we  now 
compare  the  mortality  from  this  disease  among  the  white 
and  colored  troops  in  the  West  Indies  at  the  present  time, 
we  shall  find  that  the  susceptibility  of  the  colored  race  to 
this  malady  has  largely  increased.  The  statistics  are  for 
the  period  1886-92  and  are  the  latest  which  have  come 
to  my  notice. 

COMPARATIVE  MORTALITY  AXD  ADMISSIONS  TO  THE  HOSPITALS  FOR 
TUBERCULAR  DISEASES  AMONG  THE  WHITE  AND  COLORED  TROOPS 
IN  THE  WEST  INDIES.  2 

(  Rates  per  1,000  of  mean  strength,  1886-1S92. ) 

Admissions.  Deaths. 

White  troops 1.3 0.26 

Colored  troops 7.6 2.69 

The  above  table  shows  only  the  mortality  from  tuber- 
cular diseases  and  is,  therefore,  not  strictly  comparable 
with  the  last  table,  but  it  is  plainly  seen  that  the  ex- 
cess of  negro  mortality  from  lung  diseases  has  largely 
increased  during  recent  times  in  the  West  Indies,  as  well 
as  in  the  United  States.  In  Africa  the  rate  is  even  higher, 
but  there  are  no  data  from  which  a  comparison  could  be 
made  between  the  white  and  colored  populations  in  the 
same  locality.  In  W^est  Africa,  among  the  colored 
troops,  the  mortality  from  tubercular  diseases  was  4.23 
per  1,000  and  the  admission  rate  8.5.  The  disease, 
therefore,  w^as  only  slightly  more  prevalent  than  in  the 

1  "Pygmies",  p.  85. 

^  Army  Medical  Report,  1S93,  (Loudon,  1895,)  pp.  1S8-191. 


Race  Traits  and  Tcndtnicics  of  the  American  Negro.     79 

West  Indies,  but  more  fatal.  Since  many  of  the  colored 
troops  in  West  Africa  had  served  in  the  West  Indies, 
the  disease  may  have  been  more  confined  to  them  than 
to  the  natives  of  Africa.  The  reports  do  not  give  exact 
infonnation  on  this  point. 

Among  the  general  population  of  the  West  Indies, 
consumption  at  the  present  time  is  a  very  common  dis- 
ease. In  Trinidad,  the  rate  for  consumption  is  292  per 
100,000  of  population,  and  229  per  100,000  for  respira- 
tory diseases.  In  Jamaica,  the  average  mortality  from 
consumption  was  175  per  100,000,  while  for  Kingston 
Parish  the  rate  was  435.  The  enormous  difference  be- 
tween the  two  rates  is  more  apparent  than  real,  in  view 
of  the  want  of  proper  medical  attendance  in  the  country 
districts.  The  general  death  rate  of  Kingston  is  only 
about  two  per  thousand  above  the  rate  for  the  whole  is- 
land. The  true  rate  for  consumption  will  probably  lie 
between  the  two. 

In  Hayti,  we  are  officially  informed  that  "  pulmonary 
diseases  are  almost  unknown,  excepting  among  the  na- 
tives with  whom  it  is  always  hereditary.  "  ^  This  offi- 
cial statement  is  in  contrast  with  the  statement  of  Mr. 
Steward  who  maintains  that  "  consumption  does  not  pre- 
vail at  Port  au  Prince,  where  enlightened  negro  physi- 
cians control  sanitation.-  "  We  have  it  on  the  author- 
ity of  Mr.  Fronde  and  Sir  Spenser  St.  John  that  the  san- 
itary condition  of  Port  au  Prince  makes  the  place  ut- 
terly unfit  for  residence,  and  this  view  is  confirmed  by  a 
friend  of  the  writer  who  visited  Hayti  about  a  year  ago. 
That  the  disease  must  be  rather  frequent  among  the  na- 
tives is  perhaps  proved  by  a  singular  custom  prevailing 
in  the  island.       According  to   Dr.  R.   Percy  Crandall, 

'  Government  Handbook  of  Hayti,  p.  71. 
-  Social  Economist,  Oct.,  1895,  p.  207. 


8o  American  Economic  Association. 

U.  S.  N.,  "  when  a  consiiiiiptive  dies  the  entire  contents 
of  the  room  in  which  he  dies  are  either  destroyed  or  are 
thrown  into  some  place  set  aside  by  the  government  for 
that  purpose.  *  *  *  Cases  have  occurred  where 
small  houses  have  been  burned  to  the  ground  to  prevent 
the  spread  of  the  disease.  "  This  advanced  view  of  the 
contagious  nature  of  consumption  may,  however,  have 
materially  prevented  the  spread  of  the  disease. 

We  may  now  consider  the  prevalence  of  the  disease 
immediately  after  the  war.  We  have  the  record  for  the 
city  of  Charleston  for  the  years  1865-94,  according  to 
which  the  colored  population  had  a  death  rate  from  con- 
sumption of  363  per  100,000  above  that  of  the  whites.' 
We  have  also  the  record  of  the  hospital  service  of  the 
Freedmen's  Bureau,  from  which  the  following  abstract 
has  been  compiled,  showing  at  the  same  time  the  prev- 
alence of  other  important  diseases,  and  the  resulting 
mortality. 

CAUSES   OF  THE    MORTALITY  AMONG  THE  WHITE  AND  COLORED 
PATIENTS  OF    THE    FREEDMEN'S    BUREAU   UNDER  TREAT- 
MENT FROM  1S65  TO  JUNE  30,  1872.' 

Rate  Rate 

White         per      Colored       per 
patients.      i,ooo    patients.     1,000. 

Number  of  patients 22,053  430.466 

Deaths  from  all  causes 735  33.3  18,027  4i-9 

"  "  Miasmatic  diseases   ....  288  13.  i  8,364  19.4 

"  "     Euthetic        "         9  .4  160  .4 

"  "     Dietic  diseases 7  .3  49  .1 

"  "  Constitutional  diseases    .    .  65  2.9  2,371  55 

"  "  Nervous                 "          ...  46  2.1  765  1.8 

"  "  Circulatory           "         ...  10  .5  357  .8 

"  "  Respiratory          "          ...  48  2.2  1,814  4.2 

"  "  Digestive              "         ...  59  2.7  1,302  3.0 

"  "  Urinary                  "          ...  13  .6  228  .5 

"  ''  Diseases  of  women    ....  8  .4  184  .4 

"  "     all  other  causes 1S2  8.3  2,433  5-7 

1 "  Type  of  Disease  among  the  Freed  people  of  the  United  States,"  by  Robert  Rey- 
buru,  M.  D.,  Washington,  D.  C,  1S91,  psxge  16,  et  scq. 

^  See  page  70. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     8i 

The  total  number  of  white  patients  under  treatment 
was  22,053,  and  of  colored  patients  430,466.  The  ages 
of  the  patients  are  not  given,  but  it  is  evident  from  the 
report  of  Dr.  Reyburn  that  persons  of  all  ages  and  both 
sexes  came  under  the  charge  of  the  relieving  officers. 
The  total  of  deaths  from  all  causes  for  the  white  popula- 
tion was  735,  and  for  the  colored  population  18,027. 
The  rate  of  mortality  was,  therefore,  2iZ-Z  P^^  1000  pa- 
tients for  the  whites,  and  41.9  per  1,000  for  the  colored, 
an  excess  of  about  25  per  cent.  For  constitutional  dis- 
eases the  mortality  rate  was  3.0  for  the  whites,  and  5.5 
for  the  colored,  an  excess  of  80.3  per  cent.  For  con- 
sumption and  respiratory  diseases  the  whole  number  of 
deaths  and  the  death  rates  per  1,000  patients  were  as 
follows  : 

MORTAI.ITY  FROM  CONSUMPTION  AND  RESPIRATORY  DISEASES.' 


Colored  Pat-ients 
White  Patients .  , 


Consumption. 

Respiratory  Diseases. 

Number         Per  i,ooo 

Number        Per  1,000 

of  Deaths.       Patients.2 

of  Deaths.      Patients.* 

1,787            4-2 

1,814              4.2 

47              2.1 

48              2.2 

'  "  Type  of  disease,"  page  16,  et  seq. 
-  In  all  430,466  colored  and  22,053  white. 

For  both  diseases  the  negro  mortality  was  about  loo 
per  cent,  above  that  of  the  whites,  which  is  in  marked 
contrast  with  the  former  infrequency  of  the  disease  among 
the  general  colored  population.  In  this  case,  too,  we 
have  two  populations  practically  alike,  subject  to  the 
same  conditions  of  life,  the  same  medical  treatment  and 
under  the  same  relieving  officers  of  the  government. 
It  would  even  be  natural  to  suppose  that  the  white 
patients  were  of  a  class  which  had  suffered  and  endured 
much  before  they  became  practically  government  pau- 
pers, yet  we  have  the  proof  before  us  that  they  were  less 
liable  to  death  from  consumption  and  disease  of  the 
respiratory  organs  than  the  colored  population. 


82  American  Economic  Association. 

This  assertion  contradicts  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Rey- 
burn,  who  on  the  strength  of  the  foregoing  statistics 
conchides  that  "  they  are  quite  sufficient  to  disprove  the 
statements  so  commonly  made  concerning  the  extreme 
liability  of  the  colored  race  to  scrofula  and  pulmonary 
tuberculosis.  So  far  from  these  two  diseases  being  al- 
most universally  prevalent  amongst  the  colored  people  in 
the  southern  states,  these  people  seem  to  be  no  more 
subject  to  them  than  the  whites  who  live  under  like 
conditions  in  our  large  cities.  Scrofula  and  pulmonary 
tuberculosis  are,  in  part,  caused  by  a  neglect  of  the  laws 
of  hygiene  and  sanitary  science.  These  diseases  do  not 
seem  to  be  any  more  destructive  to  the  colored  race  than 
to  the  white.'" 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  Dr.  Reyburn  could 
arrive  at  this  conclusion,  which  is  neither  supported  by 
his  own  facts  nor  by  the  medical  experience  of  the  army. 
According  to  a  previous  table,  ^  the  mortality  from 
consumption  was  6.31  for  colored  and  2.18  for  the  white 
troops  during  the  war.  According  to  Dr.  Reyburn's  re- 
port the  mortality  from  this  cause  was  4.2  per  1,000  of 
colored  patients,  and  only  2.1  per  1,000  of  white  patients. 
And  we  shall  see  later  on  that  this  disparity  between  the 
mortality  rates,  as  shown  for  consumption,  prevails  to 
an  even  greater  extent  in  the  mortality  from  scrofula 
and  other  diseases.  But  if  Dr.  Reyburn  had  been  en- 
tirely correct  as  to  the  equal  prevalence  of  consumption 
and  scrofula  at  the  time  the  colored  patients  came  under 
his  observation,  it  can  be  proven  that  at  the  present 
time  the  colored  race  is  subject  to  an  inordinate  mor- 
tality from  consumption  and  respiratory  diseases,  which 
will  menace  the  very  existence  of  the  race  in  the  not 
far  distant  future. 

'^  Medical  News ^  Dec.  2,  1S93. 
-  Page  74. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  Avicrican  Negro.     83 

The  table  which  follows  gives  the  comparative  mor- 
tality per  100,000  living  population  for  fourteen  repre- 
sentative American  cities  with  large  colored  populations. 
The  rates  are  for  the  year  1890  and  are  based  on  the 
population  returns  of  the  census.  The  mortality  has 
been  compiled  from  the  health  reports  of  the  respective 
cities. 

MORTALITY  FROM  CONSUMPTION— FOURTEEN  AMERICAN  CITIES. 
Rates  per  100,000  of  Populatiou. — 1890. 

White.  Colored. 

Charleston,  S.  C 355-4  686.3 

New  Orleans,  L,a 250.3  587.7 

Savannah,  Ga 371.  i  544-0 

Mobile,  Ala 304.1  608.2 

Atlanta,  Ga 213.8  483.7 

Richmond,  Va.      230.5  411. i 

Baltimore,  Md.^ 250.6  524.6 

Washington,  D.  C.^ 245.0  591.8 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y.' 284.9  539-0 

New  York,  N.  Y.i 379.6  845.2 

Boston,   Mass.i 365.8  884.8 

Philadelphia,   Pa.' 269.4  532.5 

St.  Louis,  Mo 159-9  605.9 

Cincinnati,  Ohio 239.1  633.3 

1  Reports  of  Dr.  Billings,  Census  of  1890. 

Without  exception  the  mortality  rates  of  the  colored 
race  are  largely  in  excess  of  the  rates  for  the  white 
population.  The  rates  are  highest  in  New  York  and 
Boston,  but  this  is  due  to  a  certain  extent  to  the  larger 
proportion  of  colored  persons  in  those  cities  between  the 
ages  of  15  and  45,  for  which  period  the  mortality  from 
consumption  is  greatest.^  The  actual  difference  in  mor- 
tality for  the  white  and  colored  from  this  disease  is 
more  clearly  brought  out  in  the  table  below,  which 
shows  the  comparative  mortality  from  this  cause  for 
two  cities  at  two  age  periods.  These  cities  fairly  rei> 
resent  the  mortality  of  the  colored  population  in  the 
other  large  cities. 

'  See  page  41. 


84  Ajiierican  Economic  Association. 

MORTAUTY  FROM  CONSUMPTION  IN  TWO  CITIES  BY  AGE  GROUPS. 

1890.1 

Ages  15-45. 

Per  ct.  of  Col'd 
White.  Colored.       above  White. 

Baltimore,  Md 31307  592. 37  S9.21 

Washiugtou,  D.  C 293.69  658.14  124.09 

Ages  45  and  over. 

Baltimore,  Md 449-99  569.26  28.73 

Washington,  D.  C 369.54  727.27  96.80 

1  Report  of  Dr.  Billings,  Vital  Statistics  of  Washington  and  Baltimore,  Census 

of  1S90,  p.  32. 

It  will  be  observed  at  a  glance  that  the  mortality  is 
most  excessive  at  the  period  of  middle  life,  that  is, 
among  those  who  largely  represent  the  present  genera- 
tion, born  or  raised  during  the  period  of  freedom.  The 
age  group  above  45  represents  largely  those  who  were 
under  the  influence  of  the  conditions  of  servitude ;  but 
it  is  among  this  class  that  we  find  a  greater  power  of 
resistance  to  disease  and  death  than  among  the  genera- 
tion following  emancipation  and  the  participation  of  the 
negro  in  the  active  struggle  for  life.  It  will  be  of 
interest  to  trace  the  effect  of  age  on  mortality  even  to 
the  youngest  generation  ;  and  this  is  done  for  deaths 
from  pneumonia,  since  the  mortality  from  this  cause 
more  accurately  measures  the  power  of  vital  resistance 
at  the  early  ages.  The  statistics  are  for  the  same  two 
cities  and  for  four  age  periods.  The  rates  are  per 
100,000  living  at  the  same  age. 

MORTALITY   FROM   PNEUMONIA  IN  TWO  CITIES.i 
(Death  rate  per  100,000  living  at  same  age.) 

Ages  o  to  5. 

CoPd  over  White. 

White.                Colored.  Per  ct. 

Baltimore,  Md 645.01             2,158.95  234.72 

Washington,  D.  C 466.17             1,642.15  252.26 

Ages  5-15. 

Baltimore,  Md 37-52                105.01  179.87 

Washington,  D.  C 28.0S                119.72  326.35 

1  Report  of  Dr.  Billings,  Census  of  1S90,  p,  32. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     85 

Ages  15-45. 

Col'd  over  White. 

White.                Colored.  Per  ct. 

Baltimore,  Mil 74.20                123.74  66.76 

Washinglou,  D.  C 69.32                194.00  179.86 

Ages  45  and  over. 

Baltimore,  Md 323.93                360.53  14.39 

WashiiifTtou,  D.  C 274.18               446.2S  62.77 


Tins  table  presents  the  life  history  of  the  race  as  af- 
fected by  the  mortality  from  a  single  cause.  For  Balti- 
more the  mortality  among  the  colored  for  the  age  group 
0-5  exceeds  that  of  the  white  population  by  234.7  per 
cent;  for  the  age  group  5-15,  179.9  per  cent.  ;  for  the 
group  15-45,  66.8  per  cent.,  and  for  the  last  group  14.4 
per  cent.  For  Washington  the  excess  of  negro  mortality 
over  the  white  is  252.3  per  cent,  for  the  age  group  0-5  ; 
326.4  per  cent,  for  group  5-15;  179.86  per  cent,  for 
group  15-45  and  62.8  per  cent,  for  group  45  and  over. 
We  are  led  to  ask,  can  the  "  conditions  of  life  "  have 
anything  to  do  with  this  gradual  decrease  in  the  propor- 
tionate colored  mortality  as  we  reach  the  age  groups 
which  represent  the  "  old  stock  "  ?  Is  it  not  self  evident 
that  it  is  the  working  of  the  law  of  physiological  hered- 
ity rather  than  the  effects  of  environment  that  we  have 
here  to  deal  with  ? 

Pneumonia  as  well  as  consumption  is  excessively  pre- 
valent among  the  colored  population  in  all  parts  of  the 
country.  I  have  dealt  to  such  a  considerable  extent 
with  the  mortality  from  consumption  that  I  shall  con- 
fine myself  in  the  consideration  of  pneumonia  to  the  fol- 
lowing statistics  of  comparative  mortality  from  this  cause 
for  six  representative  cities.  The  table  has  been  com- 
piled from  the  reports  of  Dr.  Billings. 


86  Atficricaji  Economic  Associatio7i. 

MORTAUTY  FROM  PNEUMONIA  IN  SIX  CITIES— 1S90.1 
(Rate  per  100,000  of  Population.) 

White.  Colored. 

Baltimore,  IMd 174.86  350-69 

Washington,    V).  C 140.28  352.72 

New  York,  N.  Y 336.46  3S9.50 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y 277.47  493-33 

Boston,  Mass 249.S4  32596 

Pliiladelpbia,  Pa 1S0.31  356.67 

1  Reports  of  Dr.  Billings,  Census  of  1890. 

The  table  shows  that  consumption  is  not  the  only, 
disease  excessively  prevalent  among  the  colored  popula- 
tion. We  shall  see  later  on  that  there  are  other  diseases 
of  no  small  degree  of  importance  which  prevail  to  a 
larger  extent  among  the  colored  than  among  the  whites. 
Consumption  and  j^neumouia  are,  however,  the  most  im- 
portant of  the  diseases  which  affect  the  negro's  duration 
of  life.  The  facts  here  brought  together  show  that  these 
diseases  are  on  the  increase  and  that,  too,  in  contrast  with 
the  constant  decrease  of  the  mortality  from  consumption 
among  the  white  population.  In  Massachusetts  the 
average  annual  death  rate  from  consumption  was  441 
per  100,000  of  population  for  1851-55,  against  334  for 
1866-70,  314  for  1881-85  and  only  236  for  1891-93.  In 
England  the  mortality  from  consumption  has  decreased 
from  257  per  100,000  for  1858-60  and  222  for  1871-75 
to  164  for  1886-90.  The  fact,  therefore,  that  the  negro 
race  should  show  such  an  enormous  increase  in  the  mor- 
tality from  this  cause  is  one  of  great  significance.  The 
large  decrease  in  the  mortality  among  the  white  race 
may  permit  us  to  indulge  in  the  hope  that  a  decrease  in 
the  mortality  for  the  colored  race  is  also  possible.  But 
at  present  the  race  tendenc}-  is  the  other  way  ;  and  a 
close  study  of  related  phenomena  will  convince  the 
reader  that  only  the  most  radical  changes  in  the  race 
traits  and  tendencies  of  the  colored  race  can  accomplish 
this,  if  it  is  at  all  possible. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     87 

Closely  allied  to  consumption  are  scrofula^  syphilis  and 
other  venereal  diseases,  all  of  M'liich  are  more  or  less 
constitutional  diseases.  They  are  therefore  considered 
together  and,  much  to  my  regret,  less  in  detail  than 
would  have  been  desirable. 

It  has  often  been  asserted  that  scrofula  was  a  common 
disease  among  the  colored  population  before  the  war. 
Dr.  Cartwright  has  stated  that  it  was  extremely  common 
among  the  colored  children.^  I  have  found  little  statis- 
tical proof  of  an  excessive  mortality  from  either  scrofula 
or  syphilis.  In  the  Charleston  mortality  reports  for 
1822-4S,  mention  is  made  of  only  two  deaths  from 
syphilis  among  the  white  and  of  four  among  the  colored 
population.  Both  scrofula  and  syphilis  may,  however, 
have  been  frequent  as  diseases  but  of  less  fatality.  By 
examining  the  tables  of  Dr.  Baxter,  showing  the  causes 
of  rejection  of  white  and  colored  applicants  for  enlist- 
ment into  the  army,  I  find  that  the  rate  was  greater  for 
both  diseases  among  the  colored  than  among  the  whites. 

REJECTIONS  FOR  SCROFULA  AND  SYPHILISJ 
(Per  1,000  applicants  for  enlistment  into  the  army.) 


Rejected  for  diseases  in  general 

"         "    Scrofula 

"         "    Syphilis 


White. 

Colored. 

264.1 

170.2 

2.S 

3-8 

3-8 

10.7 

1  Medical  Statistics  of  the  Provost  Marshal  General,  Vol.  I,  Washington,  1S75. 

The  rejections  for  all  causes  were  less  for  the  colored 
than  for  the  whites,  but  the  rejections  for  scrofula  were 
35.7  per  cent,  and  for  syphilis  1 8 1.6  per  cent,  in  excess  of 
the  white  rates.  These  figures  support  Dr.  Cartwright, 
and  prove  that  scrofula  as  well  as  syphilis  was  more  pre- 
valent among  the  colored  males  of  military  age  than 
among  the  same  class  of  whites.  The  medical  experi- 
ence of  the  army  during  the  war  furnishes  another  series 

'  DeBow,  "South  and  West,"  Vol.  2,  p.  319. 


White. 

Colored. 

Discharges  for  all  causes  .    .    . 

82.20 

35-30 

"    Scrofula.   .    .    . 

0.37 

0.77 

"          "    Syphilis.    ,    .    . 

0.74 

0.45 

88  Avierica7i  Economic  Association. 

of  facts  of  equal  importance  as  showing  for  both  races 
the  rate  per  1,000  discharged  for  disability  from  disease. 

DISCHARGES  FOR  DISABILITY  FROM  SCROFULA  AND  SYPHILIS.* 
(Per  1,000  of  mean  strength.) 

1  cause 
;rofula. 
^philis. 

1  "  Medical  History  of  the  War,"  Vol.  Ill,  p.  27. 

We  have  seen  that  the  rejections  for  scrofula  were  35.7 
per  cent,  greater  for  the  negroes  than  for  the  whites,  but 
according  to  the  table  now  before  us  the  discharges  for 
this  cause  were  more  than  one  hundred  per  cent,  higher. 
For  syphilis  the  rate  is  less  than  that  of  the  whites,  due 
in  part,  but  not  wholly,  to  the  fact  that  a  much  larger 
proportion  of  negroes  liable  to  this  disease  had  already 
been  rejected. 

Another  important  series  of  facts  closely  related  to 
those  presented  in  the  last  two  tables  is  furnished  by  the 
medical  experience  of  the  army,  showing  the  number  of 
cases  under  treatment  in  the  hospitals.  I  presume  the 
former  series  of  cases  is  in  part  included  in  the  latter. 
The  table  which  follows  shows  the  rate  of  admissions  to 
hospitals  for  scrofula,  syphilis  and  gonorrhoea  per  10,000 
admissions  for  all  causes,  according  to  race.  • 

COMP.\RATlVE  PREV.\LENCE  OF  SCROFULA  AXD  VE:NEREAL  DISE.A.SES 
AMONG  THE  WHITE  AND  COLORED  TROOPS  UNDER  TREATMENT 
IN  HOSPITALS  DURING  THE  WAR.     (iS6i-66.)» 

No.  of  cases  of  Per   10,000  -  Excess  of  Col'd 

Scrofula.  patients.  rate,  per  cent. 

White  troops 6,022  10.34                        .    . 

Colored  troops  ....        2,508  39.85                     285.28 

No.  of  cases  of  Per  10,000  Excess  of  White 

Sj'hilis.  patients.  rate,  per  cent. 

White  troops 73,382  125.96                       27.72 

Colored  troops  .    .    .    .        6,207  98.62 

No.  of  cases  of  Per   10,000  Excess  of  White 

Gonorrhoea.  patients,  rate,  per  cent. 

White  troops 95,833  164.57  46.64 

Colored  troops      .    .    .        7,060  J 12. 18  .    . 

1  "  Medical  History  of  the  War,"  Vol.  I,  pp.  636-641  and  710-712. 

2  Total  number  of  white  patients  under  treatment  for  all  causes  5,825,480  ;  col- 
ored, 629,354. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     89 

We  have  here  substantially  the  same  relative  fre- 
quency of  the  three  specified  diseases  as  was  brought  out 
in  the  preceding  table.  The  rates  are  per  10,000  of  all 
admissions  to  hospitals  and  for  this  reason  cannot  be 
compared  with  the  rates  based  on  the  avera|^e  mean 
strength  of  the  arm\\  To  afford  the  means  of  compari- 
son I  reproduce  the  rates  given  in  a  previous  table, 
(page  74),  which  show  the  comparative  frequency  of  ve- 
nereal diseases  as  well  as  the  consequent  mortality. 

COMPARATIVE  PREVALENCE  OF  AND  MORTALITY  FROM  VENEREAL 
DISEASES  AMONG  THE  WHITE  AND  COLORED  TROOPS  OF  THE  U.  S. 
ARMY  DURING  THE  V/AR.i 

(Average  annual  rates  per  1,000  of  mean  strength.) 

Cases.  Deaths. 

White 82.04  0.06 

Colored 77-74  0.17 

'  "  Medical  Hi-story  ot  the  War,"  Vol.  Ill,  page  13. 

The  important  fact  brought  out  is,  that  while  venereal 
diseases  were  less  frequent  among  the  colored  troops 
than  among  the  whites,  they  were  almost  three  times  as 
fatal ;  and  it  will  be  found  on  close  study  of  the  general 
mortality  of  the  colored  race  that  for  all  of  the  most 
prevalent  diseases  the  rate  of  fatality  is  invariably 
greater  among  the  colored  than  among  the  white  patients. 

The  facts  thus  far  brought  together  would  seem  to 
prove  that  previous  to  the  war,  scrofula  was  more,  and 
syphilis  less,  prevalent  among  the  colored  males  of 
military  age  than  am.ong  the  whites ;  that  during  the 
war  this  condition  practically  remained  the  same,  but 
that  the  mortality  from  venereal  diseases  was  much 
greater  among  the  colored,  although  the  general  preva- 
lence of  this  class  of  diseases  was  less.  With  these  facts 
before  us  v/e  may  now  consider  the  comparative  preva- 
lence of  these  diseases  among  the  white  and  colored  ref- 
ugees and  freedmen  cared  for  by  the  relieving  officers 
of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau. 


90 


A}?terican  Econoynic  Association. 


I  have  already  quoted  from  Dr.  Reyburn,  from 
whose  reports  the  following  table  has  been  abstracted, 
the  opinion  that  scrofula  was  not  more  frequent  among 
the  colored  patients  than  among  the  whites.  I  am  at  a 
loss  to  ifnderstand  the  method  by  which  Dr.  Reyburn 
arrived  at  this  conclusion,  since  the  facts  before  us, 
identically  the  same  from  which  Dr.  Reyburn  drew 
his  inference,  prove  exactly  the  contrary  to  be  true. 

COMPARATIVE  PREVALENCE  OF  SCROFULA  AND  VENEREAL  DISEASES 
AMONG  THE  WHITE  AND  COLORED  PATIENTS  UNDER  TREATMENT 
AT  THE  HOSPITALS  OF  THE  FREEDMENS  BUREAU.' 

Total  No.  of  Patients  No.  cases  of    Per  10,000 

under  Treatment.  Scrofula.        patients. 

White  patients 22,05^  68  30.8 

Colored  patients 430.466  6,613  153.6 

Per  ct.  excess  in  Col'd  rate,  398-7 

No.  cases  of        Per  10,000     No.  cases  of    Per  ic,ooo 

Syphilis.  patients.    Gonorrhoea,    patients. 

White  patients 379  171. 9  191  86.6 

Colored  patients 10,887  252.9  5,790  134.5 

Perct,  excess  in  Col'd  rate,  47-12  55  3^ 

»  Type  of  disease,  page  16  et  seq. 

So  far  as  it  is  possible  to  judge  from  this  summary'  it 
would  seem  that  the  two  populations  as  here  represented 
were  subject  to  the  same  "  conditions  of  life  "  and  were, 
at  least,  while  in  charge  of  the  government  relieving 
officers,  subject  to  the  same  mode  of  treatment.  The 
facts  brought  out  are  of  great  value  in  connection  with 
the  previous  tables  as  well  as  with  those  that  are  to  fol- 
low. For  we  have  here  the  proof  that  the  rate  for 
scrofula  among  the  colored  was  399  per  cent,  higher 
than  among  the  whites  ;  for  syphilis,  47  per  cent ;  and 
gonorrhoea  55  per  cent.  The  two  last  named  diseases 
(and  it  is  diseases  we  are  here  dealing  with,  not  deaths) 
we  have  previously  found  to  be  less  prevalent  among  the 
colored  males  in  the  army,  but  here  among  the  colored 
population  in  general  we  find  that  the  rate  for  either  is 


Race  Traits  and  Toidoicies  of  the  American  Negro.     91 

much  higher  than  among  the  whites.  Whether  this 
was  brought  about  by  the  new  "  conditions  of  life " 
which  emancipation  brought,  or  whether  it  is  the  effect 
of  a  cause  long  in  operation,  it  will  always  be  extremely 
difficult  to  prove.  The  truth  lies  probably  between  the 
two,  but  the  fact  is  clearly  proven  that  immediately 
after  the  war  scrofula,  syphilis  and  other  venereal  dis- 
eases were  excessively  prevalent  among  the  colored  as 
compared  with  the  white  population. 

Before  we  go  on  to  consider  the  comparative  fre- 
quency of  these  diseases  at  the  present  time,  we  may  with 
advantage  study  their  comparative  prevalence  in  the 
West  Indies.  The  data  are  few,  and  hence  I  shall  not 
consume  much  space  in  their  discussion.  The  table 
below  will  show  the  comparative  rates  of  admissions  to 
the  hospitals  as  well  as  the  rates  for  those  who  were 
constantly  sick  and  under  treatment  for  venereal  dis- 
eases. The  table  covers  the  period  1886-92  and  the 
year  1893. 

ADMISSIONS  TO  HOSPITAL  FOR  VENEREAL  DISEASES   OF  THE  WHITE 

AND  COLORED  TROOPS  IN  THE  BRITISH  WEST  INDIES.i 

1886-1892  and  1893  (per  i,ooo  of  mean  strength.) 


IS86-IS92  . 
1893- 

Admissions  to  Hospital. 

White  Troops.        Col'd  Troops. 

226.0                        312.5 

251.4                         317.9 

Constantly  Sick. 
White  Troops.    Col'd  Troops. 
17.74                   23.36 
2355                   31-04 

'Army  Medical  Department  report  for  1S93,  p.  iSS  etscq. 

The  colored  troops  show  the  larger  admission  rates, 
but  for  the  year  1893  the  increase  in  the  prevalence  of 
the  disease  has  been  greater  among  the  whites.  Of 
those  constantly  sick  the  increase  was  about  6  per  1,000 
for  the  white  troops  and  8.32  per  1,000  for  the  colored. 
The  rate  of  increase  for  the  one  year  is,  however,  of 
very  little  importance,  and  in  the  absence  of  comjDara- 
tive  data,  which  I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain,  I  am 


92  Ajncn'caji  Economic  Association. 

not  able  to  show  for  the  West  Indies  whether  there  has 
been  an  actnal  increase  in  the  prevalence  of  this  class  of 
diseases,  or  a  decrease.  The  data  for  the  general  popu- 
lation of  the  West  Indies  are  not  sufficiently  reliable  on 
this  point,  in  view  of  the  very  large  number  of  deaths 
without  medical  attendance.  For  the  island  of  St. 
Christopher,  however,  it  has  been  stated  by  Mr.  Parker, 
U.  S.  Commercial  Agent,  that  "  according  to  the  most 
trustv.orthy  information,  the  island  had  more  leprosy' 
and  s}'philitic  diseases  to  the  number  of  square  miles 
than  any  other  territory  in  the  world."-  Mr.  Parker 
adds  that  "  until  quite  recently  the  common  women  of 
the  island  were  as  a  rule  prostitutes  who  spread  their 
disease  throughout  the  island,  but  in  the  last  eighteen 
months  there  has  evidently  been  a  change."  The 
proverbial  '  oldest  inhabitant,'  according  to  ]\Ir.  Parker, 
"  seems  to  think  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when 
virtuous  men  and  women  will  be  quite  common  on  the 
island,  and  that  there  will  be  an  end  to  the  profanity 
and  indecency  of  women  on  the  streets  which  now  ex- 
ist." Consul  Carroll  fonnerly  at  Demerara  wrote  in 
the  same  way  about  the  colored  women  of  British 
Guiana.^ 

These  facts  regarding  the  West  Indies  are  of  con- 
siderable importance,  since  the  colored  race  in  those 
islands  has  practically  been  removed  from  the  influence 
of  the  white  race  ;  and  whatever  conditions  of  life,  race 
traits  or  tendencies  we  meet  with,  are  largely  the  result 
of    conditions  for  which  the  colored  race  alone  is  re- 

^  "  As  regards  lepros}',  the  editor  of  "  Lazaretto"  (No.  ii)  a  paper 
published  in  the  West  Indies,  asserts  that  a  careful  census  carried  out 
by  medical  officers  would  demonstrate  that  St.  Christopher  and  Nevis 
contains  more  lepers  per  1,000  of  population  than  any  other  British 
Possession."     W.  Tebb  in  "  Leprosy,"  page  33. 

^Consular  report,  Sept.  1S93,  p.  25. 

^Consular  Report,  Sept.  1S92. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  Ainerican  Negro.     93 

sponsible.  We  have  here  to  consider  the  fact  that  in 
comparison  with  white  males  of  military  age,  the 
colored  troops  are  more  affected  with  venereal  diseases 
than  the  white,  although  the  difference  is  not  very  large. 
But  the  data  affecting  the  army  in  those  islands  are  not 
suflEicient,  and  as  I  have  said,  I  have  no  reliable  informa- 
tion regarding  the  prevalence  of  these  diseases  among 
the  general  population.^ 

If  we  now  return  to  the  southern  states  we  shall  first 
consider  the  comparative  prevalence  of  scrofula  and 
syphilis  as  a  cause  of  death  in  the  state  of  Alabama, 
for  which  fairly  accurate  information  is  available  for  the 
period  1890-94;  also  for  Charleston,  S.  C,  for  1822-48 
and  1889-94. 

DEATHS  FROM   SCROFULA  AND  VENEREAL  DISEASES  AMONG  THE 
WHITE  AND  COLORED  POPULATIONS  OF  ALABAMA.* 

Scrofula.  Venereal  Diseases. 

White.  Colored.  White.         Colored. 

1S90 10  23  3  37 

189I 10  17  3  21 

1S92 S  12  3  24 

1893 8  27  7  33 

1S94 8  15  6  40 

♦Annual  reports  for  1890-94  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  of  Alabama. 

COMPARATIVE  MORTALITY  FROM  SYPHILIS  AMONG  THE  WHITE  AND 
COLORED  POPULATIONS  OF  CHARLESTON,  S.  C. 

Deaths. 
Period.  White.  Colored. 

1822-48 2  4 

1889-94 10  66 

Among  the  white  population  the  number  of  deaths 
from  either  disease  is  too  small  to  be  of  any  importance. 
Even  for  the  colored  race  the  number  of  deaths  is  not 
very  large,  but  when  we  consider  that  the  whites  form  55 

'  For  more  detailed  information  in  regard  to  the  mortality  and  mor- 
ality of  the  Negro  in  the  West  Indies,  see  Quarterly  Piiblicatiojis  of 
the  American  Statistical  Association,  June,  1895,  pp.  181-200. 

7 


94  American  Economic  Association. 

per  cent,  of  the  total  population  of  the  state  of  Alabama  it 
is  significant  that  the  proportion  of  deaths  among  them 
from  these  causes  should  be  so  very  small.  I  have  al- 
ready called  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  the  city  of 
Charleston  the  number  of  deaths  from  syphilis  for  the 
period  1889-94,  was  66  among  the  colored  population, 
as  against  10  among  the  whites.  This  would  show  a 
remarkable  preponderance  of  the  disease  among  the 
negroes.  But  we  have  more  exact  and  important  data 
for  the  cities  of  Baltimore  and  Washington,  calculated 
from  the  report  of  Dr.  Billings  on  the  vital  statistics  of 
those  two  cities.  The  table  given  below  shows  the 
mortality  from  scrofula  and  venereal  diseases  for  the 
white  and  colored  population,  for  the  period  1885-90, 
and  the  percentage  of  negro  mortality  over  the  white 
from  these  causes. 

MORTALITY  FROM    SCROFULA   AND    VENEREAL  DISEASES    IN    BALTI 

MORE  AND   WASHINGTON.— 1SS5-1890. 

(Per  100,000  of  population.) 


Scrofula. 

Venereal  Diseases. 

Baltimore. 

Washington. 

Baltimore. 

Wa.shington. 

White 

6.12 

5-28 

3.06 

5.89 

Colored 

29.09 

3S.39 

13.29 

23-S9 

Per  cent,  of  excess  of 

negro  mortality,    . 

375-3 

627  I 

344-3 

305-6 

In  both  cities,  almost  to  the  same  degree,  the  negro 
mortality  from  the  causes  under  consideration  exceeds 
that  of  the  white  population  by  344  to  627  per  cent. 
The  table  confirms  the  crude  statistics  for  the  state  of 
Alabama  and  Charleston,  and  makes  plain  the  fact  that 
the  prevalence  of  these  two  diseases  and  the  consequent 
mortality  have  greatly  increased  since  the  war.  It  can 
not  be  consistently  argued  that  because  the  mortality 
from  these  diseases  is  small,  the  facts  brought  out  there- 
fore, are  of  less  significance  than  those  for  consumption. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     95 

It  is  because  the  disease  is  closely  related  to  other  dis- 
eases, principally  consumption,  and  an  excessive  in- 
fant mortality,  that  the  rapid  increase  of  scrofula  and 
venereal  disease  among  the  freed  people  becomes  a  mat- 
ter of  the  greatest  social  and  economic  importance. 

For  the  root  of  the  evil  lies  in  the  fact  of  an  immense 
amount  of  immorality,  which  is  a  race  trait,  and  of 
which  scrofula,  syphilis,  and  even  consumption  are  the 
inevitable  consequences.  So  long  as  more  than  one- 
fourth  (26.5  per  cent,  in  1894)  of  the  births  for  the  col- 
ored population  of  Washington  are  illegitimate, — a  city  in 
which  we  should  expect  to  meet  with  the  least  amount  of 
immorality  and  vice,  in  which  at  the  same  time  only 
2.6  per  cent,  of  the  births  among  the  whites  are  illegiti- 
mate,— it  is  plain  why  we  should  meet  with  a  mortality 
from  scrofula  and  syphilis  so  largely  in  excess  of  that  of 
the  whites.  And  it  is  also  plain  now,  that  we  have  reached 
the  underlying  causes  of  the  excessive  mortality  from  con- 
sumption and  the  enormous  waste  of  child  life.  It  is 
not  in  the  conditions  of  life^  but  in  the  race  traits 
and  tendencies  that  we  find  the  causes  of  the  excessive 
mortality.  So  long  as  these  tendencies  are  persisted 
in,  so  long  as  immorality  and  vice  are  a  habit  of 
life  of  the  vast  majority  of  the  colored  population, 
the  effect  will  be  to  increase  the  mortality  by  heredi- 
tary transmission  of  weak  constitutions,  and  to  lower 
still  further  the  rate  of  natural  increase,  until  the  births 
fall  below  the  deaths,  and  gradual  extinction  results. 

The  diseases  which  next  attract  our  attention  are 
7nalarial  and  typhoid  fevers.  The  two  classes  of  dis- 
ease are  here  considered  together  because  both  have  to  a 
large  extent  the  same  causes.  The  comparative  immu- 
nity of  the  negro  from  malarial  diseases  has  often  been 
asserted  by  medical  a^d  other  writers.     I  know  of  no  re- 


96  American  Econoviic  Association. 

liable  statistical  data  to  support  this  assertion.  Fergii- 
;son,  in  his  paper  "  On  the  Nature  and  Histor\-  of  Marsh 
Poisons,"  read  before  the  Royal  Society,'  says :  "  The 
adaptation  of  the  negro  to  live  in  the  unwholesome  lo- 
calities of  the  torrid  zone,  that  proves  so  fatal  to  all  Eu- 
ropeans, is  most  happy  and  singular.  From  peculiarity 
■or  idiosyncrasy  he  appears  to  be  proof  against  fevers ; 
for  to  him  marsh  miasmata  are  in  fact  no  poison  and 
.hence  his  incalculable  value  as  a  soldier  for  field  service 
in  the  West  Indies."  This  view  is  held  to-day  by  some 
who  unfortunately  have  never  studied  the  facts.  There 
is  abundant  proof  that  the  negroes  of  today  are  far  more 
liable  to  malarial  and  typhoid  fever  than  the  whites. 

The  earliest  records  of  the  comparative  frequency  of 
malarial  fevers  which  have  come  to  my  notice  are  for 
the  British  army  in  the  West  Indies  during  the  period 
1817-36.  According  to  the  records  for  this  period,  the 
death  rate  from  fevers  was  36.9  per  1,000,  for  the 
whites,  and  4.6  for  the  colored.  The  fact  is  clearly 
brought  out  in  these  reports  that  while  the  colored  race 
was  less  liable  to  fevers,  it  was  far  from  being  exempt. 
During  the  same  period  the  colored  troops  on  the  west 
■coast  of  Africa  suffered  a  rate  of  only  2.4  per  1,000 
or  about  one-half  the  prevailing  rate  in  the  West  Indies. 
Reliable  data  are  wanting  for  this  country  for  the  period 
before  the  war.  IMost  of  the  early  writers  who  were  famil- 
iar with  the  negro  stated  that  he  was  liable  to  malarial 
poison.  Dr.  Nott,  than  whom  few  were  more  quali- 
fied to  judge,  denied  that  the  negro  was  less  liable  to 
malarial  diseases  than  the  white.  Dr.  Sanford  Hunt  in 
his  paper  on  the  "  Negro  as  a  Soldier,"  gives  it  as  his 
opinion,  based  on  practical  experience,  that  "  the  ratio 
•of    malarial  and  typho-malarial  disease  was  about  the 

^  Transactions,  Royal  Society,  Ediuburgk,  Vol.  IX. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.     97 

same  in  all  three  classes,  whites,  northern  negroes  and 
sonthern  negroes."  Dr.  Hunt  adds  that  "  this  corres- 
ponds with  the  facts  reported  by  African  travellers, 
Barth,  Anderson  and  Reade,  who  speak  of  the  great 
mortality  from  intermittent  and  bilious  fevers  of  the 
Africans  in  their  native  jungles.  .  .  The  weight  of  evi- 
dence seems  to  place  them  upon  the  same  level  as  the 
white  in  regard  to  liability  to  malarial  disease."  ^  It  is 
extremely  fortunate,  in  view  of  these  conflicting  views, 
that  we  have  now  an  abundance  of  .statistical  data 
which  will  enable  us  to  arrive  at  the  truth.  Medical 
experience  in  the  army  during  the  war,  demonstrated 
definitely  that  the  adult  negro  male  of  military  age  was 
far  more  subject  to  malarial  disease  than  the  white  sol- 
dier. The  average  rate  of  admissions  to  hospitals  for 
malarial  diseases  was  522  per  1,000  for  the  white  troops 
and  829  for  the  colored  troops,  a  difference  of  307  per 
1,000.  The  average  death  rate  for  malarial  diseases  was 
3.36  per  1,000  for  the  whites  and  10.03  ^or  the  colored 
troops.  The  fact,  therefore,  is  clearly  brought  out,  that 
whatever  the  comparative  prevalence  of  this  disease  may 
have  been  before  the  war,  during  the  war  it  certainly 
prevailed  more  extensively  and  proved  far  more  fatal 
among  the  colored  males  of  military  age  than  among  the 
white  troops.  Nor  were  the  former  free  from  any  of 
the  various  forms  of  malarial  fevers.  The  following 
table  will  show  the  comparative  rates  of  admissions 
to  hospitals  for  the  various  types  of  malarial  and  typho- 
malarial  fevers  in  the  army  during  the  war. 

^  Anthropological  Rev.  y  Vol.  7,  p.  47. 


98  Avicrican  Econo^nic  Association. 

DISEASE  PREVALENCE  FOR  FEVERS  DURING  THE  WAR.' 
(Per  1,000  of  mean  strength.) 

Form  of  Fevers.  White.  Colored. 

Qu:>tidiaii  intermittent 204.00  34900 

Tertian                "              171.00  27800 

Quartan              "              18.82  21.39 

Congestive         "              6.24  13-83 

Remittent 130.S9  167.10 

Typho-malarial 26.15  41.06 

1  "Medical  History  of  the  War,"  Vol.  III.,  pp.  93-94. 

It  needs,  therefore,  no  further  proof  that  the  negro 
soldier  was  more  liable  to  malarial  fevers  in  all  forms, 
than  the  white  soldier,  and  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Hunt  that 
*'  the  susceptibility  of  the  race  ivas  the  same  as  that  of  the 
white  race,"  is  disproven  so  far  as  the  colored  male  of 
military  age  is  concerned.  The  army  statistics  do  not 
answer  for  the  general  population,  and  the  comparative 
frequency  of  malarial  disease  among  the  general  white 
and  colored  populations,  may  still  have  been  in  accord- 
ance with  the  views  of  Dr.  Nott  and  Dr.  Hunt.  If  we  ex- 
amine the  reports  of  Dr.  Reyburn  we  shall  find  that  the 
opinion  of  these  two  writers  holds  good  for  the  general 
population  during  and  immediately  after  the  war,  so  far 
as  the  conditions  are  indicated  by  the  experience  of 
the  Freedmen's  Bureau. 

PREVALENCE  OF  MALARIAL  FEVERS  AMONG  THE  WHITE  AND  COL- 
ORED REFUGEES  CARED  FOR  BY  THE  FREEDMEN'S  BUREAU.* 

Percentage  of  Percentage  of 

Malarial  cases  in  Mortality  from  Malaria  Percentage  of 

total  of  all  cases.  in  total  No.  of  deaths.  case  fatality. 

White 26.78  7.49                             1.34 

Colored  ....               26.91  10.74                           r.  17 
1  "Type  of  Disease,"  pp.  6  and  7. 

From  the  facts  before  us  we  may  conclude  that  while 
it  is  possible  and  even  probable  that  the  colored  pojDula- 
tion  during  slavery  may  have  'been  less  subject  to 
malarial  diseases  than  the  vrhites,  immediately  after  the 


Race  Traits  and  Tcndenrics  of  the  American  Negro.     99 

war  the  rates  of  disease  prevalence  and  mortality  were 
about  equal  for  the  two  races.  The  negro  soldiers,  sub- 
ject to  the  hardships  of  military  life,  proved  themselves 
possessed  of  less  vital  force  than  the  white  soldier,  and 
in  consequence  showed  a  higher  mortality  rate  while 
subjected  to  the  same,  or  perhaps  more  favorable  condi- 
tions. 

The  statistics  for  recent  years  would  prove  that  the 
liability  of  the  colored  race  to  malarial  and  typhoid  fever 
has  largely  increased  since  their  emancipation.  For 
the  city  of  Charleston  we  are  fortunate  in  having  an  un- 
broken record  of  the  comparative  mortality  of  the  two 
races  from  these  two  causes  for  the  period  1 865-1 894. 
According  to  the  reports  there  were  295  deaths  from 
malarial  fever  among  the  white  population  and  553 
among  the  colored  population  during  this  period.  On 
the  basis  of  the  mean  population  this  would  give  a  rate 
of  42.45  per  100,000  of  population  for  the  whites  and 
66.63  ^o^  ^^  colored,  or  56.9  per  cent,  higher  for  the  col- 
ored. For  typhoid  fever  the  corresponding  rates  are 
67.34  for  the  whites  and  100.73  ^^^  the  colored,  the  per- 
centage of  excess  being  slightly  less  than  for  malarial 
fevers. 

These  rates  indicate  a  tendency  towards  a  higher  mor- 
tality for  the  negroes  than  the  whites  from  malarial 
fevers  at  the  present  time.  For  23  large  cities  of  the 
south,  according  to  the  reports  of  the  National  Board  of 
Health  for  1881,  the  rate  for  malarial  fever  was  100.4 
per  100,000  for  the  whites,  and  133.0  for  the  negroes, 
a  smaller  difference  for  the  two  races  than  that  shown 
by  the  statistics  for  Charleston  for  1865-94.  These 
rates  may  be  compared  with  the  mortality  from  malarial 
and  typhoid  fever  for  Baltimore  and  Washington  for 
the  census  year  1890. 


loo  American  Economic  Association. 

MORTALITY  FROM  MALARIAL  AND  TYPHOID  FEVER  IX  THREE  CITIES. 
(Per  100.000  of  Population.) 

Malarial  Fever.  Typhoid  Fever. 

White.         Colored.  White.             Colored. 

Charleston,   1865-1894  .    42.45         66.63  67.34             100.73 

Washington,  1S90          .    25.21         77-94  74-34            112.29 

Baltimore,       1890         .    27.78        29.72  42.49             68.35 


The  mortality  for  the  colored  race  exceeds  that  of  the 
white  in  all  three  cities  for  both  diseases,  but  the  greatest 
difference  is  shown  for  Washington,  where  the  mortalit}- 
from  malarial  fever  is  more  than  three  times  as  great  for 
the  negroes  as  for  the  whites.  As  we  have  seen,  the 
homes  of  the  colored  population  in  this  city  are  better 
situated  as  regards  the  mean  elevation  than  are  those  of 
the  whites ;  hence  the  great  excess  of  negro  mortality 
from  malarial  disease  is  remarkable  for  this  city.  For 
Baltimore  the  excess  of  negro  mortality  from  this  cause 
is  very  slight,  but  if  we  examine  the  mortality  rates  for 
various  ages,  we  shall  find  that  it  is  only  at  the  earliest 
ages,  when  the  mortality  from  these  diseases  is  very 
slight,  that  the  rates  for  the  colored  race  fall  below  those 
of  the  white. 

MORTALITY  FROM  TYPHOID  FEVER  AND  MALARIA  FOR  WASHINGTON 
AND  BALTIMORE,  ACCORDING  TO  AGE   AND   RACE.— 1890.1 


Typhoid 

Fever. 

Ages.      5- 

-15 

15- 

-45 

45  and 

1  over. 

White. 

Colored. 

White. 

Colored. 

White. 

Colored. 

Baltimore  .    . 

20. 1 1 

64.62 

5904 

81.62 

39-58 

2S.46 

Washington  . 

•        35.09 

II9.I0 

99-57 

149-80 

59.60 

41.32 

Malarial  Fever. 

Baltimore  .    . 

.        25.37 

15-98 

17.87 

23.69 

58-63 

75-90 

Washington  . 

•        21.53 

87-43 

23.95 

63-85 

32.78 

107.44 

1  vital  statistics  of  Washington  and  Baltimore,  page  2S  and  29. 

The  two  tables  are  ver}'  instructive  and  need  little  ex- 
planation.    It  is  shown  that  for  all  age  groups  the  negro 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    loi 

mortality  in  both  cities  exceeds  that  of  the  whites,  ex- 
cepting the  age  group  5-15  for  Baltimore.  The  proof 
is  therefore  complete  as  regards  the  greater  susceptibility 
of  the  colored  race  to  malarial  and  typhoid  fevers  at  the 
present  time,  and  the  fact  brought  out  is  one  of  consid- 
erable economic  importance  as  well  as  of  general  value. 
For  with  a  greater  susceptibility  to  malarial  diseases, 
the  economic  importance  of  the  negro  as  a  laborer  in  the 
alluvial  and  swamp  regions  of  the  South  is  materially 
affected.  The  two  following  tables  will  illustrate  the 
importance  of  this  point  better  than  a  textual  discussion, 
and  at  the  same  time  afford  proof  of  another  tendency 
of  the  colored  race  which  seems  to  have  escaped  those 
who  have  so  frequently  discussed  the  various  aspects  of 
the  so-called  '  race  problem,'  namely,  the  smaller  in- 
crease in  the  colored  population  living  in  the  coast 
swamp  regions  of  the  South  and  in  those  parts  of  the 
country  which  have  an  altitude  under  100  feet. 

WHITE  AND  COLORED  POPULATIONS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  i8So 
AND  1890,  IN  THE  COAST  SWAMPS  AND  ALLUVIAL  REGIONS  OF 
THE  MISSISSIPPI.! 

A.    Coast  Sw-amp  Region. 


White  population  . 
Colored  population 


White  population  . 
Colored  population 
1  Census  of  1890,  Population,  Vol.  I,  p.  xlvi,  et  seq. 


WHITE   AND   COLORED    POPULATION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES,    1880 
AND  1S90,  LIVING  AT  AN  ALTITUDE  OF  LESS  THAN  100  FEET.i 

Percentage  of  in- 
1890.  1880.  crease  1880-1890. 

White  population  .   .    .  8,679,000  6,774,000  28.12 

Colored  population  .    .  1,708,000  1,499,000  13-94 

'  Census  of  1890,  Population,  Vol.  I,  p.  xlviii,  et  seq. 


Percentage  of  in- 

1S90.                           iSRo. 

crease  1SS0-1890. 

1,035,000                   867,000 

1938 

774,000                   702,000 

10.26 

Alluvial  Region  of  the  Mississippi. 

1S90.                              iSSo. 

348,000                    275,000 

26.55 

537.000                    408,000 

31.62 

I02  American  Economic  Association. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  white  population,  while  pro- 
portionately less  in  numbers  in  the  low  and  swamp 
lands  of  the  country,  nevertheless  increased  at  a  much 
greater  rate  during  the  decade  1880-90  than  the  colored 
population.  The  larger  increase  in  the  colored  popula- 
tion on  the  alluvial  lands  of  the  Mississippi  is  in  part 
due  to  the  migration  of  colored  people  from  other  parts  of 
the  country.  But  the  significant  fact  here  brought  out 
is  that  in  just  those  regions  which  we  have  been  told 
time  and  again  were  only  fit  for  the  habitations  of  the 
colored  race  or  of  a  mixed  race,  the  white  race  is  in- 
creasing at  a  much  greater  rate  than  the  colored.  This 
progress  of  the  whites  we  must  largely,  if  not  solely,  at- 
tribute to  the  increasing  power  of  vital  resistance  of  the 
white  race  and  its  lesser  susceptibility  to  malarial  and 
typhoid  fevers  than  the  colored  race.  The  statis- 
tics of  Charleston  prove  that  even  in  those  sections  which 
years  ago  were  subject  to  the  most  excessive  death  rates 
the  white  race  can  live  and  increase  without  immigra- 
tion. What  is  true  for  Charleston  is  no  doubt  true  more 
or  less,  for  all  the  southern  states ;  otherwise  it  would 
be  impossible  to  explain  the  larger  increase  in  the  white 
than  in  the  colored  population  in  the  swamp  and  low 
lands  of  the  country. 

I  called  attention  in  the  beginning  of  this  chapter  to 
the  excessive  mortality  from  fevers  among  the  white 
troops  in  the  West  Indies  in  the  early  part  of  this  cen- 
tury. It  will  be  of  value  to  compare  the  condition  at 
that  time  with  the  experience  for  recent  years.  The 
next  table  of  comparative  disease  prevalence  and  mor- 
tality has  been  abstracted  from  the  Army  ^Medical  Re- 
port for  1893  and  shows  the  rates  for  the  period  1886-92 
and  for  the  year  1893. 


2. 

Mortality. 

Admissions 
to  hospital. 

1893. 

Mortality. 

I.16 
2.08 

30.1 

34-7 

0.79 
None. 

1893. 

Admissions 

to  hospital. 

Mortality. 

757-7 

None. 

Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    103 

DISEASE  PREVALENCE  AND  MORTAUTY  FROM  MALARIAL  FEVERS  IN 

THE  BRITISH  WEST  INDIES— 1S86-1893. 

Per  1,000  mean  strength. 


Admissions 
to  hospital. 
White  Troops,  45.5 

Colored  Troops,        120.6 


DISEASE  PREV.\LENCE  AND  MORTALITY  FROM  MALARIAL  FEVERS  IN 

WEST  AFRICA— 18S6-1893. 

Among  the  Colored  Troops  only, 

18S6-1892. 
Admissions 

to  hospital.  Mortality 

Colored  Troops,        939-1  9.40 

In  the  beginning  it  was  stated  that  the  mortality  from 
all  fevers  per  r,ooo  of  mean  strength,  for  the  period  1817 
-35,  was  36.4  for  the  whites,  and  for  the  colored  troops  only 
4.6.  We  have  here  the  proof  that  this  condition  has  rad- 
ically changed  and  that  at  the  present  time  it  is  the  negro 
who  is  most  subject  to  malarial  fevers,  even  in  those  re- 
gions which  it  has  been  argued  could  only  be  inhabited 
permanently  by  the  colored  race.  The  admission  rate 
to  hospitals  is  nearly  three  times  as  great  for  the  colored 
as  for  the  whites,  while  the  mortality  is  more  than  twice 
as  high.  Surely  the  "  conditions  of  life  "  cannot  possi- 
bly have  anything  to  do  with  this  inordinate  mortality 
of  the  negro  under  the  same  military  conditions  as  the 
white  soldier  and  under  the  influence  of  a  climate  which 
we  have  been  told  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  his  needs.  If 
we  examine  the  mortality  records  of  the  colored  troops  on 
the  west  coast  of  Africa,  we  find  a  still  more  remarkable 
condition,  the  admission  rate  being  939.1  per  1,000  for 
the  period  1886-92  and  a  corresponding  death  rate  of 
9.40. 

From  the  very  meagre  data  at  my  command  it  is  not 


I04  Amcricayi  Econojuic  Association. 

possible  to  arrive  at  any  intelligent  idea  as  to  the  in- 
fluences responsible  for  such  an  inordinate  disease  prev- 
alence and  mortality  from  malarial  fevers  among  the 
colored  troops  in  west  Africa ;  but  it  is  possible  that  ow- 
ing to  the  fact  that  many  of  the  soldiers  had  formerly 
lived  in  the  West  Indies,  they  fell  victims  to  climatic 
influences  which  more  than  fifty  years  ago  sealed  the  fate 
of  countless  white  soldiers  in  the  same  locality.  The 
subject  is  deserving  of  further  investigation  in  view  of 
the  many  colonization  schemes  constantly  brought  to 
the  attention  of  the  colored  people  of  the  South,' 

^  According  to  the  African  Repository  for  January,  1S92,  p.  31, 
the  total  number  of  emigrants  settled  in  Liberia  by  the  American 
Colonization  Society,  had  reached  16,349,  yet  according  to  the  "States- 
man's Yearbook"  for  1894,  the  total  Afro-American  population  of  Libe" 
ria  was  only  18,000  in  1S94.  Hence  there  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
any  natural  increase  in  the  emigrant  popnlalion.  I  have  found  it  al- 
most impossible  to  obtain  accurate  information  on  the  health  of  Libe- 
ria, but  am  informed  by  Mr.  Wilson,  the  secretary  of  the  above-named 
society,  that  "  the  health  statistics  of  Liberia,  if  it  were  possible  to 
obtain  them,  would  compare  favorably  with  those  of  the  colored  peo- 
ple in  our  Southern  States."  Since  the  health  of  the  colored  people 
of  the  Southern  States  is  far  from  favorable,  we  must  conclude  that 
the  climate,  etc.,  of  Liberia  are  equally  unfavorable  to  the  progress  of 
the  colored  race.  That  the  early  emigrants  to  the  colony  suffered 
severely  is  evidenced  by  the  frequent  references  to  the  subject  in  the 
work  of  Mr.  Alexander  on  the  "History  of  African  Colonization" 
from  which  I  quote  the  following  passage  :  "  The  health  of  the  colo- 
nists had  suffered  much  during  the  year  (1834)  and  the  mortality 
among  the  emigrants  by  the  latest  expeditions  had  been  unusually 
great.  Out  of  six  hundred  and  fort)'- nine  emigrants,  one  hundred 
and  thirty-four  died.  Though  all  were  more  or  less  subject  to  the 
fever,  those  who  came  from  the  northern  part  of  the  United  States 
suffered  by  far  the  most.  .  .  .  The  emigrants  were  imprudent  and 
did  not  sufficiently  guard  against  the  exciting  causes  of  fever  ;  espe- 
cially those  from  the  southern  part  of  the  United  States,  who  sup- 
posed that  they  were  not  liable  to  be  attacked  by  the  African  fever. 
And  when  sick,  instead  of  following  the  advice  of  those  in  the  colony 
who  had  experience,  they  listened  to  those  of  their  own  number  who 
professed  to  have  skill,"  (pp.  437  and  43S).  This  experience  of  sixty 
years  ago  found  its  repetition  in  the  fate  of  a  party  of  colonists  sent 
out  to  Liberia  on  the  19th  of  March,  1895,  by  the  International  Emi- 
gration  Society   of  Birmingham.     According  to   a   dispatch   to   the 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    105 

On  the  basis  of  all  the  facts  here  brought  together  we 
may  assert  that  the  tendency  of  the  colored  race  towards  a 
higher  death  rate  and  disease  prevalence  from  malaria, 
is  of  comparatively  recent  origin ;  that  this  tendency  is 
to  be  observed  in  the  South  as  well  as  in  the  West  In- 
dies, in  marked  contrast  with  the  lesser  susceptibility  of 
the  white  race  ;  and  that  this  favorable  condition  of  the 
whites  cannot  be  attributed  to  better  conditions  in  life, 
but  must  be  attributed  to  an  increasing  power  of  vital 
resistance.  If  the  claim  of  Dr.  Lewis,  the  secretary  of 
the  North  Carolina  state  board  of  health,'  and  others,  as 
to  the  cause  of  malarial  fever  be  true,  and  better  sanitary 
conditions  be  brought  about,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the 
negro  would  benefit  by  such  improved  conditions  of  life 
to  the  same  extent  as  the  white  race,  for,  as  we  have  seen 
in  discussing  the  effect  of  altitude  and  density  on  the 
death  rate,  his  inordinate  mortality  is  about  the  same, 
proportionally,  under  the  best  as  under  the  worst  con- 
ditions. Any  amelioration  of  his  unfortunate  condition 
in  this  respect  would  undoubtedly  be  of  the  greatest  pos- 
sible value  from  an  economic  as  well  as  from  every  other 
standpoint ;  but  the  race  tendency  towards  an  excessive 
mortality  would  only  be  slightly  affected. 

Yellow  fever  is  another  disease  to  which  it  has  often 
been  claimed  the  negro  was  not  liable,  or  if  at  all,  to  only 
a  very  slight  degree.  According  to  Dr.  Cartwright  "  they 
are  not  liable  to  the  dreaded  el  vomito,  or  yellow  fever,  at 
least  they  have  it  so  lightly  that  I  have  never  seen  a  ne- 
gro die  with  black  vomit,  although  I  have  seen  a  num- 

Evening  Post  of  September  7,  1895,  out  of  211  who  comprised  the 
party  sent  out  in  March,  only  half  survived  the  ravages  of  the  fever, 
aggravated  by  privation.  Those  who  were  able  returned  to  the  United 
States,  while  many  were  too  ill  or  too  poor  to  leave. 

'  5th  biennial  report,  North  Carolina  state  board  of  health,  pp.  148 
ei  seq. 


io6  American  Economic  Association. 

ber  of  yellow  fever  epidemics.  "  '  Dr.  Nott  laid  down 
the  proposition  that  "  mulattos,  like  negroes,  although 
unacclimated,  enjoy  extraordinary  exemption  from  yel- 
low fever  when  brought  to  Charleston,  Savannah,  j\Ig- 
bile,  and  New  Orleans.  "  '"  In  Cuba,  according  to  the 
United  States  yellow  fever  commission  of  1879,  "  "lany 
physicians  assert  that  negroes  enjoy  an  absolute  immu- 
nity from  yellow  fever.  "  ^  Topinard  also  speaks  of  the 
immunity  of  negroes  and  their  cross  breeds  from  yellow 
fever. ' 

The  dearth  of  statistical  material  for  the  early  part  of 
this  century  makes  it  impossible  to  prove  that  the  im- 
munity of  the  negro  from  this  most  dreaded  disease  ever 
existed  in  fact.  That  he  was  comparatively  less  liable 
to  its  ravages  there  is  not  the  slightest  doubt,  and  it  is 
very  likely  that  this  comparative  infrequency  of  the  dis- 
ease among  the  slaves  caused  the  impression  that  there 
was  an  absolute  immunity.  If  we  consult  the  mortality 
records  of  Charleston  for  the  period  1822-48,  we  shall 
find  that  while  the  disease  was  infrequent  among  the 
colored,  it  was  not  entirely  absent. 

MORTALITY  FROM  YELLOW  FEVER  IN  CHARLESTON,  1822-1848. 

White.  Colored. 

1S22-30 352 8 

1S31-40 579 6 

1S40-48 3 o 

There  were,  therefore,  14  deaths  from  yellow  fever  re- 
corded among  the  cole  red  population  of  one  city  alone 
during  the  j)eriod  1822-48.  This  record  may  be  compared 
with  the  record  of  the  same  city  for  the  period  of  187 1- 
76. 

'  DeBow,  "South  and  Vest,"  vol.  2,  p.  319. 
^  "  Types  of  Mankind  ",  p.  373. 
3  National  Board  of  Health  Report,  iSSo,  p.  48. 
*"  Anthropology  ",  p.  412. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    107 

MORTALITY  FOR  YELLOW  FEVER,  CHARLESTON,  1871-76. 


•                                                       AVhite.              Colored. 
[871-76 256 27 


With  very  slight  changes  in  the  proportion  of  the 
white  and  colored  populations  of  the  city  we  find  sub- 
stantially different  condition  as  to  the  liability  of  the 
colored  race  to  this  disease. 

Since  1877  there  has  been  no  yellow  fever  in  Charles- 
ton and  hence  we  cannot  compare  the  mortality  of  the 
two  races  for  a  more  recent  period  for  this  city.  But 
we  may  recur  again  to  the  mortality  experience  of  the 
army  during  the  war.  The  comparative  number  of 
cases  and  deaths  from  yellow  fever  among  the  white  and 
colored  troops  was  as  follows  : 

SICKNESS    AND     MORTALITY    FROM    YELLOW    FEVER    AMONG     THE 
WHITE  AND  COLORED  TROOPS  DURING  THE  WAR.' 

White  Colored 

Cases 1181  190 

Deaths 409  27 

'  "  Medical  History  of  the  War,"  Vol.  I,  page  636  et  seq. 

There  was,  therefore,  no  immunity  from  tliis  disease 
among  the  negro  soldiers  during  the  war. 

Among  the  colored  refugees  under  the  care  of  the 
Freedmen's  Bureau  there  were  512  cases  of  yellow  fever 
and  38  deaths  during  the  period  1865-72.  During  the 
great  epidemic  of  1878  at  New  Orleans  383  deaths 
occurred  among  the  whites  and  183  among  the  negroes, 
and  the  same  year  in  South-west  Louisiana  there  were 
454  and  154  cases  for  the  two  races  respectively.  It 
had  already  been  observed,  during  the  epidemic  of 
1869  at  New  Orleans,  that  the  colored  troops  were  by 
no  means  free  from  attacks  of  yellow  fever.  The  ex- 
perience of  the  army  gave  a  rate  of  866  cases  and  256 
deaths  per  1,000  whites,  and  521  cases  and  ■^^i  (leaths 
per  1,000  blacks.     Thus  the  case  prevalence  among  the 


io8  American  Economic  Association. 

negroes  had  very  closely  approached  that  of  the  white 
population,  but  still  the  comparative  mortality  was  very 
much  lower."  During  the  Memphis  epidemic  of  1878 
the  proportion  of  deaths  from  yellow  fever  to  the  num- 
ber attacked  was  42  per  cent,  among  the  whites  and 
among  the  blacks  only  1 1  per  cent.^  During  the  epi- 
demic in  Decatur,  Alabama,  the  case  prevalence  and 
mortality  were  as  follows  : 

SICKNESS  AND  MORTALITY  FROM  YELLOW  FEVER  AT  DECATUR.  ALA. 

White  Colored 

Cases 100  30 

Deaths        .        30  5 

Percentage  of  deaths 30.7  16.7 

The  Decatur  epidemic  shows  a  lower  mortality  rate 
for  the  whites  and  a  higher  mortality  rate  for  the  colored 
than  was  observed  during  the  Memphis  epidemic.  The 
number  of  cases  and  deaths,  however,  is  probably  too 
small  for  safe  deductions. 

The  most  recent  experience  is  furnished  by  the  epi- 
demic of  Brunswick,  Georgia,  of  1893.  From  a  report 
of  the  surgeon  in  charge,  I  abstract  the  following  sta- 
tistics :  ^ 

SICKNESS  -A-ND    MORTALITY   FROM  YELLOW   FEVER  IN  BRUNSWICK, 
GA.,  1S93. 

White  Colored 

Cases      353  7i7 

Deaths 35  10 

Percentage  of  mortality 9.9  1.35 

This  epidemic  shows  a  still  greater  case  prevalence 
but  a  lower  rate  of  mortality.  The  proportion  of  cases 
to  the  population  is  not  given,  but  the  colored  popula- 

'  National  Board  of  Health  Report,  iSSo,  p.  149. 

*  First  Annual  Report,  State  Board  of  Health  of  Tenn.,  1877-1S80, 
page  93- 

^  For  the  statistics  for  Brunswick  I  am  obliged  to  Dr.  Walter  Wy- 
man,  Surgeon-General  of  the  U.  S.  Marine  Hospital  service,  Wash- 
ington. D.  C. 


Race  Traits  and  Teyidcncies  of  the  American  Negro.   109 

tion  was  in  the  large  majority.  Hence  the  number  of 
cases  does  not  prove  conclusively  that  the  proportion  of 
cases  was  greater  for  the  colored  than  for  the  whites ; 
but  the  fact  is  clearly  shown  that  the  colored  race  is  to- 
day as  liable  as  the  white  to  the  disease,  though  still 
having  a  lower  mortality  rate  from  this  cause. 

With  respect  to  the  negro  in  the  West  Indies  we  have 
it  on  the  authority  of  the  yellow  fever  commission  of 
1879  that  "it  is  not  true,  as  has  been  so  often  asserted, 
that  Cuban  negroes  are  immune  against  the  disease."^ 
The  report  also  refers  to  the  epidemic  of  1802  at  Mar- 
tinique, where  "  the  African  negroes  acting  as  nurses  in 
the  hospital  of  Fort  de  France,  were  attacked  and  all 
died,  except  some  old  men."^ 

Yellow  fever  is  becoming  less  and  less  the  curse  of 
the  large  cities  of  the  South.  In  New  Orleans,  where 
the  disease  was  a  constant  menace  during  the  early  part 
of  the  century  and  up  to  comparatively  recent  times, 
the  decrease  in  the  mortality  from  this  cause  will  appear 
from  the  following  summary  : 

MORTALITY    FROM    YELLOW    FEVER  IN  NEW    ORLEANS,   1845-94. 
Total.  Average  per  Annum. 

1845-55 18. 131  1.684 

1856-67 8,546                                    777 

1868-78 5,084                                        462 

1879-89 27                                                   2.4 

1890-95 None  None 

The  same  diminution  in  the  mortality  from  this  dis- 
ease is  to  be  observed  in  Charleston. 

1  Annual  Report,  National  Boar-d  of  Health,  p.  148. 
"^Ibid.,  p.  148. 


no  AmeHcan  Economic  Associatio7i. 

MORTALITY  FROM  YELLOW  FEVER  FOR  CHARLESTON,  i799-iS95- 

Total.  Average  per  Anuuin. 

1799-1808 829  82.9 

1809-1818 270  27.0 

1819-1828 503  50.3 

1829-1838 456  45.6 

1839-1848 136  13.6 

1849-1858 No  record 

1859-1868 No  record 

1869-1878' 284  2S.4 

1879-1888 None  None 

1889-1895 None  None 

'  213  deaths  in  1871,  30  deaths  in  1876. 

This  remarkable  change  in  the  prevalence  of  this 
most  dreaded  disease  in  the  large  cities  of  the  south 
would  seem  to  prove  that  the  susceptibility  of  the  white 
race  to  yellow  fever  has  diminished  while  that  of  the 
colored  race  has  comparatively  increased.  It  is  not  a 
question  whether  this  favorable  condition  for  the  whites 
has  been  brought  about  by  sanitation  or  more  scientific 
methods  of  dealing  with  the  disease ;  the  point  is  that 
the  white  race  has  become  master  of  the  conditions  that 
produced  the  disease,  and  by  this  means  the  average  dur- 
ation of  life  has  been  considerably  increased.  The  col- 
ored population,  while  indirectly  benefitted  by  this  im- 
provement, is  not  directly  concerned  in  this  favorable 
change  in  the  conditions  of  life  at  the  South.  Much  to 
the  contrary  the  liability  of  the  race  to  this  disease  has 
enormously  increased,  if  we  can  rely  on  the  records  of 
comparative  mortality  during  the  period  of  ser\'itude. 

It  is  commonly  supposed  that  the  colored  race  suffers 
more  from  small-pox  than  the  white  race.  The  supposi- 
tion is  fairly  supported  by  statistical  proof.  The  mor- 
tality from  eruptive  fevers  among  the  colored  troops  in 
the  West  Indies  during  the  period  1817-35  was  2.5  per 
1,000,  while  for  the  white  troops  it  was  almost  7iil.  In 
Sierra  L/Cone  during  the  same  period  the  rate  for  the 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro,   iii 

negroes  was  6.9  while  among  the  whites  there  were  no 
deaths  at  all  from  this  cause.  The  records  of  Charleston, 
S.  C,  for  the  period  1822-48  show  a  large  preponderance 
of  negro  mortality  from  small-pox,  there  being  45  deaths 
among  the  white  population  and  149  among  the  colored. 
The  experience  of  the  army  with  this  disease  during  the 
war  w^as  as  follow^s  : 


prevalence;  of  small-pox  in  the  army  during  the  war. 

(Per  1,000  of  mean  strength.) 

Cases  Deaths 

White  troops 5.49  1.95 

Colored  troops 36.62  12.21 


>  "  Medical  History  of  the  War,"  Vol.  Ill,  p.  624. 

The  excess  of  mortality  and  disease  prevalence  among 
the  blacks  was  very  large  according  to  the  above  record. 
It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  out  of  the  same  num- 
ber of  small-pox  cases  a  larger  number  died  among  the 
colored  than  among  the  whites.  This  fact  is  supported 
by  the  statistics  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  according  to 
which  the  mortality  and  disease  prevalence  were  as 
follows  : 


PREVALENCE    OF    SMALL-POX    AMONG    THE    WHITE  AND    COLORED 

REFUGEES  TREATED  AT  THE  HOSPITALS  OF  THE  FREEDMEN'S 

BUREAU. 

Whites  Colored 

Cases 155  10,299 

Deaths 24  1,802 

Percentage  of  mortality 15-49  17-55 


These  figures  support  those  previously  given  and 
prove  that  while  small-pox  is  proportionally  more  pre- 
valent among  the  colored  population  it  is  not  for  this 
reason  much  more  fatal  proportionally.  In  the  New^ 
Orleans  epidemic  of  1875,  the  mortality  was  as  follows  : 


112  Amen'cafi  Economic  Association. 

PREVALENCE  OF  SMALL-POX  IN  NEW  ORLEANS  IN  1S75. 

Whites  Colored 

Cases 4»5  477 

Deaths 131  201 

Percentage  of  uiorlalitj- 3'-53  42.14 

In  this  epidemic  the  case  mortality  of  the  colored  was 

in  excess  of  that  of  the  whites,  an  excess  slightly  more 
than  33  per  cent.  In  the  epidemic  of  1S74  in  the  same 
city  the  number  of  cases  per  1,000  of  population  was 
4.59  for  the  white  population  and  11.30  the  colored. 

These  figures  do  not  show  that  there  is  any  specific  race 
tendency  towards  a  higher  mortality  or  even  towards  a 
greater  prevalence  of  the  disease  among  the  negroes  than 
among  the  whites.  On  the  contrary  the  statistics 
for  the  last  twenty  years  show  that  if  subjected  to  vac- 
cination and  re-vaccination,  the  prevalence  of  this  disease 
can  as  readily  be  prevented  among  the  colored  as  among 
the  white  population.  The  experience  of  New  Orleans 
proves  this  very  plainly,  for  the  large  number  of  vacci- 
nations among  the  colored  population  have  virtually 
banished  the  disease  from  that  city.'  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  epidemic  of  1884  the  city  has  been  compara- 
tively free  from  small-pox  for  the  last  twenty  years. 
For  Charleston,  S.  C,  the  figures  are  even  more  instruc- 
tive. The  city  had  a  small-pox  epidemic  in  1865-66 
which  caused  the  death  of  48  white  and  366  colored 
people.  The  next  epidemic  was  during  1872-74,  when 
12  whites  and  122  negroes  died;  and  since  1874  there 
has  been  but  one  death  from  small-pox  among  the  col- 
ored and  none  among  the  white  population. 

'  During  1S95  there  were  46  deaths  from  small  pox  among  the  col- 
ored population  of  New  Orleans  against  one  death  from  this  cause  in 
1S94.  JJuring  the  same  two  years  there  were  vaccinated  30,845  white 
persons  and  22,592  colored  persons,  the  vast  majority  of  whom,  how- 
ever, were  vaccinated  during  the  last  three  months  of  1895  when  the 
epidemic  had  run  its  course.  An  ounce  of  prevention  would  have 
prevented  the  larger  part  of  the  mortality  of  1895. 


Race  Traits  and  Tcndendcs  of  the  American  Negro.    113 

I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  satisfactory  statistics  as 
to  the  comparative  mortality  among  vaccinated  and  nn- 
vaccinated  colored  persons.  The  oldest  records  on  this 
snbject  are  probably  those  of  Boston  for  1752  and  1792/ 
bnt  the  nnmber  of  cases  is  small  and  the  figures  contra- 
dict each  other.  For  the  same  reason  the  statistics  for 
Philadelphia  for  1893  and  1894  are  unsatisfactory.  It 
would  be  of  value,  however,  to  obtain  trustworthy  data 
on  this  point,  to  ascertain  whether  the  colored  popula- 
tion, properly  protected  by  vaccination,  is  more  or  less 
liable  to  small-pox  than  the  white  race.  The  great  de- 
crease in  the  mortality  from  this'  dreaded  disease  among 
all  civilized  peoples  who  have  made  vaccination  compul- 
sory is  well  known.  In  England  alone  the  mortality 
i-:,"t  from  this  cause  has  decreased  from  219.3  per  million 
during  iS^^-^o  to  13.2  during  1886-90.  The  dimin- 
ishing mortality  from  tbis  disease  among  the  colored 
population  would  therefore  prov£  that  in  this  respect 
they  do  not  differ  materially  from  the  white  rg/:e.  If, 
therefore,  the  colored  people  would  subject  themselves 
to  vaccination  to  the  same  extent  as  the  whites,  there  is 
no  reason  why  the  mortality  for  this  disease  should  not 
become  equally  as  low. 

For  measles^  scarlet  fever.,  diptheria  and  croups  the 
mortality  among  the  colored  is  undoubtedly  less  than 
among  the  whites.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any 
tendency  towards  a  change  in  this  fortunate  condition 
affecting  child  life.  There  are  occasional  exceptions  to 
the  rule,  but  if  we  take  into  consideration  that  the  prev- 
alence of  these  diseases  is  very  much  influenced  by  con- 
ditions of  life,  especially  overcrowding  of  the  popula- 
tion, and  inefficient  sanitary  supervision  of  schools,  we 

'  Shatuck  on  the  Vital  Statistics  of  Boston,  Jotirnal  of  the  Medical 
Sciences,  April,  1S41. 


114  Americayi  Econoynic  Association. 

may  account  for  the  occasional  excess  in  negro  mortality. 
The  table  below  will  show  the  comparative  mortality 
among  the  white  and  colored  populations  of  Charleston, 
Washington,  and  Baltimore. 

MORTALITY  FROM  MEASLES,  SCARLET  FEVER,  DIPHTHERIA  AND 
CROUP  IN  CHARLESTON,  S.  C— 1S65-1894. 


Rate  oer 

Rate  per 

Excess  of  White 

No.  of  deaths.    100,060    No.  of  deaths.    100,000 

Mortality  rate. 

White. 

populatiou 

Colored. 

population 

(per  100.000) 

Measles  .    .    . 

.    .       84 

12. 1 

Ill 

J3-4 

1-3' 

Scarlet  Fever 

.    .     124 

17.S 

54 

6.5 

II-3 

Diphtheria    . 

•    .    555 

79-9 

227 

27.4 

52.5 

Croup  .... 

.    .     106 

15-3 

77 

9-3 

6.0 

1  Excess  in  rate  for  Colored. 

MORTALITY     FROM     MEASLES,    SCARLET    FEVER,    DIPHTHERIA    AND 

CROUP  IN  WASHINGTON  AND  BALTIMORE— 1890. 

(Per  100,000  of  Population.) 


Washington,  D.  C.  g'ltimore,  Md. 

White.  Color/j  ^vhite.  Colored. 

-^I'^asles .  I  q/  3.96  55.56  40.12 

Scarlet  Fever 7.76  7.93  14.16  10.40 

Diphtheria  an^  (^0-up  .    .  gy.ss         114.93  60.19  32.69 

COMPARATIVE  MORTALITY  FROM  DIPHTHERIA  AND  CROUP. 

Age  o-i.                            Age  0-5.  Age  5-15. 

White.         Colored.  AVhite.          Colored.  White.    Colored. 

Baltimore  .    .    171.00        434.78  405  65         203.38  72.38        None 

Washington.    103.66       445.01  421.05        499  79  164.91       296.10 


For  Charleston  there  is  a  slight  excess  in  the  mortality 
from  measles,  which,  however,  fell  entirely  on  one  year. 
For  the  other  three  diseases  the  mortality  among  the 
colored  people  was  less  than  that  for  the  whites.  For 
Washington  all  three  diseases  are  more  prevalent  among 
the  colored,  but  as  I  have  said,  local  sanitary  conditions 
may  be  largely  responsible  for  this.  For  in  Baltimore 
we  find  that  the  mortality  among  the  whites  for  all  three 
diseases  is  considerable  above  that  of  the  colored.     No 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   115 

definite  rule  seems,  therefore,  to  prevail,  but  on  the 
whole  the  colored  race  would  seem  to  be  less  liable  to 
these  diseases  than  the  white  race. 

I  shall  have  to  deal  briefly  with  the  less  fatal  diseases 
only  a  few  of  which  can  be  considered  here.  Deaths 
from  child  birth.,  and  puerperal  diseases  are  about 
equally  frequent  for  the  two  races.  For  Baltimore  and 
Washing-ton  the  rates  were  as  follows  : 


DEATHS  FROM  CHII^DBIRTH  AND  PUERPERAL  SEPTICEMIA. 
(  Rate  per  100,000  women,  age  group  15-45.  ) 

White.  Colored. 

Washington,  1890 40.64 42.31 

Baltimore,         "      33.10 27.01 


For  Charleston  the  rates  for  the  period  1865-94  were 
as  follows  : 

DEATHS  FROM  PUERPERAL  FEVER. 

Deaths.  Rate  per  100,000  of  population. 

White 61 8.8 

Colored 150    ..    .     •  .    .    .    .    18.  i 

The  excess  of  negro  mortality  from  puerperal  fevers  is 
almost  exclusively  the  result  of  the  conditions  of  life 
under  which  these  people  live.  The  employment  of  ig- 
norant colored  women  as  nurses  and  midwives  has  been 
so  frequently  condemned  as  to  need  only  to  be  referred 
to.  As  a  race.,  the  colored  people  do  not  seem  to  suffer 
more  from  deaths  in  childbirth  than  the  whites :  as  ig- 
norant or  indifferent  individuals  they  do,  just  as  does  the 
foreign  population  of  our  large  cities  in  the  North.  The 
point  is  of  sufficient  interest  to  permit  me  to  present  the 
following  tables  for  the  cities  of  New  York  and  Brook- 
lyn, for  the  census  year  1890. 


ii6  Amerkayi  Economic  Association. 

DEATHS   FROM  CHILDBIRTH  AND  PUERPERAL  DISEASES.' 
( Per  100,000  women,  15-45  years  of  age. ) 

New  York.  Brooklyn. 

Native  whites 49-72 50.21 

Native  colored ^1-54 29.04 

Of  English  parentage 45.56 51-38 

Of  Irish  parentage 85.95 73-62 

Of  German  parentage 96.20 67. oS 

Of  Russian  Jewish  parentage  .    .   81.36 89.69 

'  Vital  Statistics  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  p.  4S. 

The  agreement  between  the  rates  of  the  native  whites 
and  those  of  English  parentage  is  significant.  That  the 
rates  for  those  of  German  parentage  should  be  so  high 
is  dne  entirely  to  the  fact  that  among  the  Germans  and 
the  Jews,  midwives  instead  of  physicians  are  almost  ex- 
clusively employed  in  cases  of  childbirth,  in  contrast 
with  the  English  and  native  Americans  who  rarely  make 
use  of  this  class  of  would-be  doctors.  The  high  rates  for 
the  Irish,  and  negroes  (excluding  Brooklyn  for  the  latter, 
on  account  of  small  numbers  of  negroes  in  population), 
are  probably  due  to  the  same  cause,  that  is,  the  employ- 
ment of  ignorant  old  women  as  nurses  during  childbirth. 
If  there  is  another  explanation,  it  will  be  of  interest  and 
great  value  to  have  this  point  more  fully  discussed  by 
qualified  medical  men. 

Cancer  and  tumor  would  seem  to  be  more  frequent  at 
the  younger  and  less  frequent  at  the  older  ages  among 
the  colored  population,  if  the  statistics  of  Baltimore  and 
Washington  represent  fairly  the  general  prevalence  of 
these  diseases.  In  the  report  of  Dr.  Billings  these  two 
diseases  have  been  combined  and  the  following  table 
will  show  the  comparative  mortality  from  these  two 
causes  for  two  age  groups. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    117 


MORTALITY  KROM  TUMOR  AND  CANCER. 
(Per  100,000  persons  of  corresponding  ages.) 

White.        Colored. 
15-45 

Baltimore, 17-87        39-49 

Washington,       .    .    .        25.21         31.92 

White.        Colored. 

45  and  over. 
290.22          161.29 
199.67          115.70 

According  to  the  reports  of  the  health  officer  of  Wash- 
ington the  average  ages  at  which  death  occur  from  can- 
cer have  been  as  follows  : 


MORTALITY  FROM  CANCER,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
(Average  age  at  death.) 


'S93. 
[894, 


White. 

Colored. 

ales.      Females. 

Males.     Females. 

57            55 

35             54 

60            55 

51             53 

The  above  table  would  indicate  a  slightly  lower  aver- 
age age  for  the  colored  persons  who  died  of  cancer. 

Whether  cancer  has  been  on  the  increase  among  the 
colored  it  is  impossible  to  say,  more  so  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  it  is  a  disputed  point  whether  the  disease  has 
increased  among  the  whites.^  The  fact  that  more  deaths 
from  cancer  are  now  recognized  may  be  entirely  due  to 
better  medical  diagnosis.  The  disease  has  always  pre- 
vailed more  or  less  among  the  colored  people,  and  prob- 
ably to  about  the  same  extent.  The  statistics  for  Balti- 
more and  Washington  would  indicate  that  the  mortality 
is  greater  among  the  colored  people  of  middle  age  than 
among  the  whites  of  the  same  age.  If  this  condition 
prevails  generally  an  increase  in  the  mortality  from  can- 
cer among  negroes  may  be  expected.  As  to  the  frequen- 
cy of  cancer  of  the  uterus,  on  which  a  good  deal  has  been 
written,  it  can  easily  be  proven  that  those  who  believed 

'See  a  valuable  paper  of  Arthur  Newsholme,  M.  D.,  and  George 
King,  F.I.  A.,  on  the  Alleged  Increase  of  Cancer,  Proceedings 
Royal  Society ,  Vol.  54,  pp.  209  et  seq. 


ii8  Avicrican  Economic  Association. 

this  disease  to  be  rare  or  entirely  absent  in  the  negro  race 
have  drawn  their  conchisions  contrary  to  the  facts.  Dr. 
]\Iiddleton  Michel  of  the  South  Carolina  INIedical  College 
and  the  Charleston  board  of  health  has  clearly  disproved 
the  theory  of  Schroeder  that  "  carcinoma  uteri,  or  any 
form  of  carcinoma  seldom  affects  the  negro  woman  "^  Ac- 
cording to  Dr.  IMichel  there  have  been  48  cases  of  cancer 
of  the  uterus  among  the  white  and  53  cases  among  the 
colored  females  of  Charleston  during  the  period  1878-91. 
These  figures  are  supplemented  by  the  following  table 
for  the  same  city  showing  the  comparative  prevalence  of 
this  affliction  during  the  period  1822-48. 

CANCER  OF  THE  UTERUS.    CHARI,ESTON,  1822-48. 

White.         Colored. 

1822-30 O  O 

1831-40 5  O 

1S41-48, 4  8 

The  above  figures  would  indicate  that  the  disease  was 
rare  among  both  races,  an  indication  which  is  probably 
more  the  result  of  the  failure  of  physicians  to  recognize 
the  disease  than  of  its  actual  infrequency. 

The  annual  reports  of  the  state  health  officer  of  Ala- 
bama contain  some  interesting  statistics  which  may  be 
of  value  in  connection  with  those  of  Dr.  Michel. 

CANCER  OF  THE  UTERUS  IN  ALABAMA,  1890-94. 


White.  Coloi 

1890 22  15 

1891, 19  18 

1892, 26  21 

IS93 25  19 

1894 27  24 

Medical  News,  October,  1892. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   119 

The  statistics  for  this  state  would  indicate  about  an 
equal  degree  of  prevalence  of  this  disease  among  the  two 
races.  The  more  accurate  statistics  of  Charleston,  and 
perhaps  better  still,  those  for  the  city  of  Washington 
for  the  period  1874-94,  prove  that  cancer  of  the  Uterus 
is  by  no  means  an  infrequent  disease  among  colored 
women.  But  there  would  seem  to  be  a  distinct  difference 
in  the  liability  of  unmarried  females  of  the  colored  race 
to  this  disease,  as  will  be  observed  in  the  next  table. 

DEATHS    FROM    CANCER    AMONG    WHITE    AND    COLORED     FEMALES 
FROM    SEPTEMBER  i,  1874,  TO   JUNE  30,  1894,— WASHINGTON,  D.  C.i 

White  Females.  Colored  Females. 
Conjugal  Condition.  Conjugal  Condition. 
Mar-      Wid-       Spin-  Mar-    Wid-       Spin- 
Cancer  of                    Total     ried.    owed,      sters.  Total    ried    owed      sters. 

Breast 191         77         74        40  89      32        45       12 

Uterus 350       217       105         28  166       77         70       19 

Ovary 18         il           5           2  5         4           i 

Stomach 113    40    48    25  57   16    32    9 

Liver 64    29    22    13  8    4    3    i 

Face,  head,  neck, 

mouth  and  throat   49    16    23    10  14    6    3    5 

All  other 169    83    48    38  55   26    19   10 

Total  ....   954   473   325   156   394  165   173   56 

1  Annual  report  of  the  Health  Officer  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  1S94,  pp.  149-50. 

Among  the  unmarried  white  females  only  17.95  P^^ 
cent,  of  the  deaths  from  cancer  were  from  cancer  of  the 
uterus,  while  33.93  per  cent,  of  the  deaths  among  un- 
married colored  females  were  from  this  particular  form 
of  cancer.  In  contrast  with  this  fact  we  find  that  can- 
cer of  the  breast  was  more  frequent  among  single  females 
of  the  white  race  than  among  those  of  the  colored.  The 
figures  to  be  trustworthy  should  be  based  on  the  number 
of  those  living  at  the  same  ages,  but  it  is  probable  that 
there  would  be  no  material  difference,  relatively  speak- 
ine.     Dr.  ]Michel  deserves  much  credit  for  having-  called 


I20  American  Economic  Association. 

attention  to  the  facts  as  to  this  interesting  phase  of  the 
pathological  history  of  the  race.' 

I  may  here  refer  briefly  to  the  liability  of  the  negro 
to  appendicitis.  It  has  been  claimed  that  this  disease  is 
extremely  rare  among  the  colored  population,  some  hav- 
ing maintained  that  the  race  is  not  liable  to  it  at  all. 
Dr.  Ashmead  of  New  York  seems  to  favor  the  latter 
view,  while  Dr.  Gaston  of  Atlanta,  Dr.  Hand  of  Shubuta, 
Miss.,  and  Dr.  Baldwin  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  in  letters  to 
the  Medical  New^  bring  forward  their  own  experiences, 
which  prove  that  the  disease  docs  occasionally  occur 
among  the  colored  population.  I  nn'self  have  record  of 
twelve  deaths  of  colored  persons  from  this  cause,  of  whom 
five  were  females.  According  to  the  report  of  the  board  of 
health  of  New  York  city,  129  persons  died  in  New  York  in 
1892,  from  typhilitis,  perityphlitis,  and  perforation  of  the 
vermiform  appendix,  of  whom  only  one  was  colored.  But 
I  am  not  inclined  to  attach  much  value  to  this  apparent 
immunity,  for  it  is  only  for  a  very  recent  period  that 
these  diseases  have  been  extensively  recognized.  Thus 
in  New  York  city  during  the  period  1881-92  the  deaths 
from  this  cause  have  increased  as  follows :  1881,  10 
deaths;  1884,  10  deaths;  1888,  72  deaths;  1892,  129 
deaths.  With  the  exception  of  the  one  case  in  1892 
there  is  no  record  of  any  other  death  from  this  cause 
among  the  colored  in  the  city  of  New  York.^     I  do  not 

^The  disease  prevalence  and  consequent  mortality  from  Cancer 
among  the  persons  cared  for  by  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  during  the 
period  1868-72  was  as  follows  : 

Cases.  Per  1,000  Deaths.  Per  1,000 

Whites 23  1.04  I  0.05 

Colored 462  1.07  62  0.14 

According  to  these  figures  the  disease  was  about  equally  prevalent 
among  both   races,    but  much  more  fatal  among  the  colored   than 
among  the  whites. 
=  Oct.  7,  IS93- 

3  No  annual  report  of  the  New  York  board  of  health  has  been 
published  for  the  last  three  years. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    121 

know  of  any  trustworthy  statistics  by  which  this  doubt- 
ful matter  can  be  cleared.  It  is  probable  that  in  time, 
as  the  disease  becomes  better  recognized,  the  number  of 
reported  cases  will  increase,  which,  however,  will  not 
prove  that  the  disease  did  not  exist  in  equal  proportions 
during  the  past.  There  is  therefore  no  immunity,  as 
has  been  claimed,  but  possibly  a  less  degree  of  suscepti- 
bility to  appendicitis,  in  the  colored  race. 

Desirable  as  it  would  be  to  deal  in  this  manner  with 
all  of  the  important  diseases  which  affect  the  colored 
race,  it  is  not  possible  for  me  to  do  so  here.  I  have  con- 
sidered those  which  I  have  taken  pains  to  investigate  to 
a  limited  extent,  and  on  which  it  is  desirable  that  data 
should  be  brought  together  in  order  to  encourage  further 
research.  But  before  I  conclude  this  part  of  my  work  I 
wish  to  deal,  as  briefly  as  possible,  w4th  the  prevalence 
of  three  diseases  which  bear  on  the  morbid  psychological 
nature  of  the  negro  rather  than  the  purely  physical. 

Alcoholism.^  insanity  and  suicide  are  three  important 
phenomena  of  the  sociology  of  the  colored  race,  to  which 
frequent  reference  has  been  made  in  medical,  anthropo- 
logical and  economic  literature.  But  few  facts  have  been 
brought  forward  to  support  one  view  or  the  other.  This 
is  largely  due  to  a  paucity  of  data ;  which,  however,  is 
no  excuse  for  the  expression  of  unwarranted  opinions. 

"  Alcoholism  among  negroes,"  we  are  informed  by  Dr. 
Norman  Kerr,  than  whom  few  have  more  thoroughly 
dealt  with  the  subject  of  inebriety,  "  differs  materially 
from  the  same  disease  in  the  white  and  Indian  races. 
The  negroes,  with  their  vivacity  and  enthusiasm,  from 
their  nervous  sensitiveness,  are  easily  excited.  Their 
drunkenness  is  more  demonstrative  than  profound,  but 
the  anaestethic  influence  is  less  lasting.  They  may  be 
characterized  as  more  readily  intoxicated  than  the  white 


122  American  Econoinic  Association. 

men  of  western  countries  but  less  liable  to  the  diseased 
condition  which  I  designated  narcomania,  intoxicate 
mania  or  inebriety.'" 

This  view  of  Dr.  Kerr  is  supported  by  a  considerable 
body  of  reliable  statistics  of  which  those  of  the  United 
States  Army  during  the  war  are  the  most  valuable  in 
view  of  their  completeness. 

According  to  the  reports  of  the  Provost-Marshal  Gen- 
eral the  rate  of  rejections  for  chronic  alcoholism  was  as 
follows  for  the  principal  nationalities  : 

REJECTIONS  FOR  CHRONIC  ALCOHOLISM,  U.  S.  A.,  i86l-65.> 

United  States,  white 0.535         per  x.ooo  examined 

"         "  colored      ••....  0.310  "  " 

Natives  of  Germany 0.619  "  " 

British  N.  America  .    .    .  1.848  "  " 

"       England  and  Wales  .    .    .  2.346  "  " 

"       Ireland 3.779  "  " 

I  Report  Provost-Marshal  General,  Vol.  II,  p.  431,  et  seq. 

The  rate  of  rejections  for  chronic  alcoholism  was 
therefore  the  lowest  for  the  colored  race  and  the  highest 
for  the  Irish.  It  will  prove  of  interest  to  know  how  far 
this  relation  was  maintained  during  the  progress  of  the 
war. 

COMPARATIVE  DISEASE   PREVALENCE   AND    MORTALITY  FROM 
INTEMPERANCE.' 
U.  S.  Army,  1861-66. 

Whites.  Colored. 

Cases.       Deaths.  Cases.       Deaths. 

Delirium  tremens 3.744          45°  12              4 

Intemperance 5.589           no  22              2 

Chronic  alcoholism 920            45  6              i 

Total 10,253  605  40  7 

I  "  Medical  History  of  the  War,"  Vol.  I,  p.  636,  et  seq. 

This  is  truly  a  remarkable  record  and  one  which  pre- 
sents perhaps  the  most  hopeful  side  of  the  negro  char- 

1  "Inebrietj-  or  Narcomania,"  by  Norman  S.  Kerr,  M.D.,  p.  131. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    123 

acter.  The  corresponding  mortality  rates  were  one  death 
to  every  220  for  the  white  soldiers,  and  one  to  every 
4,500  colored.  The  figures  therefore  prove  that  while 
the  race  had  a  lower  rate  of  rejections  for  alcoholism  be- 
fore active  service,  it  did  not  develop  under  the  influences 
of  the  hardships  of  war  times  a  tendency  toward  a  higher 
rate  of  intemperance.  The  experience  of  the  Freed- 
men's  Bureau  brings  out  this  fact  with  still  greater  force. 

COMPARATIVE  DISEASE   PREVALENCE  AND   MORTALITY  FROM 

INTEMPERANCE.' 

Persons  cared  for  by  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  1865-72. 

Whites.  Colored. 

Cases.        Deaths.  Cases.         Deaths. 

Delirium  tremens 49              2  65               i 

Inebriation.    .        51               o  48               2 

Chronic  alcoholism 11               i  19             12 

Total in  3  132  42 

'  "  Type  of  Disease,"  p.  16,  et  seq. 

The  total  number  of  cases  under  treatment  for  all 
causes  was  430,466  for  the  colored  and  22,053  for  the 
whites ;  hence  the  figures  show  largely  in  favor  of  the 
colored  race,  and  support  the  experience  of  the  army  be- 
fore and  during  the  war.  Dr.  Reyburn  comments  on 
the  infrequency  of  this  form  of  disease  among  the  freed 
people  in  the  following  words  : 

^  The  small  number  of  cases  of  delirium  tremens  met  with  among 
the  freed  people,  being  only  sixty-five,  with  one  death,  presents 
marked  contrast  in  frequenc}'  when  compared  with  the  large  number 
of  cases  met  with  among  the  white  population  of  our  country.  This 
may  be  partially  explained  by  the  fact  that  chronic  alcoholism  is  not 
so  frequent  among  the  colored  people  as  among  their  neighbors  of  the 
Caucasian  race  ;  still,  there  does  seem  to  be  even  among  those  of  the 
freed  people  who  habitually  use  intoxicating  drinks,  a  marked  ex- 
emption from  this  disease.  In  the  Freedmen's  Hospital,  under 
my  charge,  at  Washington,  D.  C,  which  has  had  under  treatment 
from  1865  to  the  present  tiuie  about  5,000  patients,  I  remember  seeing 
only  one  or  two  cases,  and  these  were  mild  in  type. 

My  own  belief  is  that  the  true  explanation  of  this  exemption  is  to 
be  sought  for  iu  the  waut  of  development  of  the  cerebral  hemispheres. 


124  American  Economic  Association. 

which  so  often  exists  among  the  negroes.  Delirium  tremens  is  pre- 
eminently a  disease  causing  disorder  of  intellection,  and  hence  the 
continued  abuse  of  alcoholic  drinks  in  the  negro  race  is  more  likely 
to  produce  eleptiform  convulsions  or  mania  than  delirium  tremens. 

If  we  now  consider  the  prevalence  of  thi.s  form  of 
disease  at  the  present  time  we  find  snbstantially  the  same 
infrequency  of  intemperance  among  the  colored  popnla- 
tion.  For  the  state  of  Alabama  the  records  for  five 
years  (1890-94)  show  46  deaths  among  the  whites  and 
14  among  the  colored  from  alcoholism.  For  Washing- 
ton and  Baltimore  the  death  rates  for  the  censns  year 
have  been  as  follows  : 

DEATHS  FROM  ALCOHOLISM,  • 
(Per  100,000  of  Population.) 


Washington , 
Baltimore .   . 


White. 

Colored. 

16.81 

3.96 

10.35 

II.S9 

'  Census  Report  of  Dr.  Billings,  pp.  28-29. 

The  above  table  shows  a  larger  death  rate  from  al- 
coholism for  the  colored  population  of  Baltimore  than 
for  the  white,  but  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  this  rate 
is  rather  accidental  and  largely  due  to  the  small  number 
of  cases  on  which  the  rate  is  based.  For  during  the  six 
years  1885-90  there  were  only  27  deaths  from  alcoholism 
among  the  colored  population  of  Baltimore  and  190 
among  the  white  population.  It  is  therefore  plain  that 
the  rate  for  1890  was  exceptionally  high.  The  compar- 
ative infrequency  of  the  disease  among  the  negroes  still 
exists. 

If  it  is  argued  that  the  mortality  from  alcoholism  does 
not  fully  determine  the  prevalence  of  intemperance, 
since  many  other  diseases  are  the  indirect  consequence 
of  the  intemperate  use  of  alcoholic  drinks,-  I  would  call 


'"Type  of  Disease,"  p.  14. 

•See  Newsholme,  "Vital  Statistics,"  page  215. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   125 

attention  to  the  table  below  which  shows  the  compara- 
tive mortality  from  diseases  of  the  liver,  which  is  com- 
monly accepted  as  a  sequel  of  intemperance.  The  death 
rates  are  for  two  age  periods  and  of  exceptional  interest 
in  view  of  the  preceding  tables. 

MORTALITY  FROM  LIVER  DISEIASES.* 

(Per  100,000  of  same  age.) 

Ages  15-45. 
White.  Colored. 

Washin<fton 10.08  17- 19 

Baltimore 11.92  15.80 

Ages  45  aud  over. 

Washington 77-48  49-59 

Baltimore 70-36  28.46 

1  Census  Report  of  Dr.  Billings,  pp.  28-29. 

This  table  presents  a  most  interesting  phase  of  the 
question  of  the  comparative  frequency  of  alcoholism.  In 
both  cities  the  mortality  from  disease  of  the  liver  is 
higher  for  the  negroes  than  for  the  whites  for  the  age 
period  15-45,  while  it  is  lower  in  both  cities  for  the  age 
period  45  and  over,  which  includes  largely  the  "  old 
stock."  If  reliance  can  be  placed  on  these  figures,  and 
there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  conditions  in  other 
cities  would  vary  greatly,  the  mortality  from  the  effects 
of  intemperance  is  on  the  increase  among  the  present 
generation  of  colored  j)eople.  It  is  not  possible  at  pres- 
ent to  determine  whether  this  is  an  actual  tendency,  and 
such  related  facts  as  I  have  consulted  would  rather  tend 
to  prove  that  alcoholism  in  its  violent  form  is  not  as 
frequent  among  the  young  colored  people  at  the  present 
time  as  among  whites.  Thus  the  statistics  for  Charles- 
ton show  936  white  and  625  colored  persons  arrested  for 
drunkenness  during  the  three  years  1892-94,  and  for 
the  city  of  Savannah  during  the  same  period  the  arrests 
were  300  white  to  127  colored.  In  both  cities  the  col- 
ored population  is  in  excess  of  the  white. 
9 


126  Avicrican  Econoviic  Association. 

Thus  whatever  the  condition  may  be  in  the  North 
it  is  not  shown  that  the  negro  at  the  South  reveals 
any  positive  tendency  to  a  higher  rate  of  mortality 
from  alcoholism.  The  subject,  however,  needs  fur- 
ther investigating  before  a  definite  conclusion  can  be 
arrived  at.  Personally  I  have  observed  very  little  in- 
temperance among  the  older  colored  people,  but  have 
met  with  many  cases  among  the  young  men  of  the  pres- 
ent generation.  But,  while  it  is  probable  that  the  negro 
indulges  in  liquor  to  a  considerable  extent,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  he  suffers  less  from  the  consequences  of  over 
indulgence,  and  this  may  account  for  the  low  mortality 
rate  from  this  cause.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  phase 
of  the  subject  will  be  thoroughly  investigated  by  some 
one  more  familiar  with  the  facts  and  with  better  oppor- 
tunities for  observation.  If  the  race  is  still  as  free  from 
alcoholic  taint  as  it  was  before  and  during  the  war  and 
reconstruction  period,  such  exemption  will  prove  of  con- 
siderable economic  advantage  in  the  struggle  for  life. 

Insajiity  and  lunacy  are  less  common  among  the  col- 
ored population  than  among  the  whites.  Accurate  sta- 
tistics on  this  point,  so  far  as  I  know,  have  never  been 
collected  and  those  of  the  census  are  mere  approxima- 
tions. According  to  the  census  of  1S90  there  has  been 
a  decrease  in  the  rate  of  insane  per  million  of  popula- 
tion, for  both  races  ;  but  it  is  admitted  that  the  statistics 
are  incomplete.  It  is  the  opinion  of  many  writers  that 
insanity  is  on  the  increase  among  both  races,  but  I  have 
been  unable  to  obtain  satisfactory  proof  of  this.  There 
are  various  elements  bearing  on  statistics  of  insanity 
and  idiocy  which  are  often  ignored  by  those  who 
have  discussed  the  subject  from  the  statistical  stand- 
point.^    The  number  remaining  in  institutions  at    the 

^  For  a  valuable  discussion  of  the  value  of  statistics  of  insanity  see 
General  Report  on  the  English  Census,  1891,  p.  74,  et  seq. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendc7icics  of  the  American  Negro.    127 

end  of  the  year  is  largel)-  affected  by  the  niiniber  of  re- 
coveries and  the  rate  of  mortality,  while  the  average 
number  of  admissions  is  largely  affected  by  the  amount 
of  hospital  accomodation. 

With  respect  to  the  rate  of  mortality  I  find  that  in 
Virginia  the  mortality  rate  was  6.9  per  cent,  for  the 
white  patients  and  8.5  per  cent,  for  the  colored,  during 
the  year  1894.  In  Georgia  during  the  same  year  the 
mortality  of  the  white  patients  at  the  state  lunatic 
asylum  was  6.5  per  cent,  against  a  colored  rate  of  11.6 
per  cent.  It  requires  only  a  simple  calculation  to  show 
that  this  excessive  mortality  of  the  colored  insane  would 
seriously  affect  the  total'  number  remaining  at  the  end 
of  the  year,  and  that,  consequently  the  actual  rate  of  in- 
crease would  be  greater  than  the  apparent  rate.  With 
respect  to  hospital  accomodation  it  is  plain  to  any  one 
who  will  look  into  the  subject  that  there  is  an  insuf" 
ficient  accomodation  for  the  insane  of  both  races  in  many 
states,  and  the  rate  of  admission  is  governed  more  by 
changes  in  political  control  or  the  condition  of  the  state 
treasury,  than  by  the  actual  increase  of  the  number  of 
insane  in  the  population.  The  superintendent  of  one  of 
the  largest  institutions  of  the  South  refers  to  this  point 
as  follows  :  "  The  number  of  patients  received  was  not 
as  great  last  year,  due  to  the  fact  that  no  addition  was 
made  to  the  hospital  as  was  the  case  the  year  before." 

Mere  statistics  of  cases  of  insanity  and  idiocy  are  also 
of  little  value  as  long  as  no  distinction  is  made  between 
the  different  forms  of  insanity.  It  is  generally  admitted 
that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  draw  the  line  of  distinc- 
tion between  one  form  and  another,  yet  it  is  evident  that 
the  forms  of  insanity  differ  materially  for  the  two  races. 
The  broad  distinction  between  idiocy,  "  in  which  the  pro- 
cess of  mental  development  has  not  been  carried  far 


128  American  Ecojiomic  Association. 

enough,"  and  insanity  "  in  which  it  has  been  carried  in 
the  wrong  direction,"  '  is  hardly  sufficient  for  the  pur- 
pose of  establishing  the  traits  and  tendencies  of  a  race  ; 
and  in  the  absence  of  a  thorough  study  of  the  statistics 
of  insanity  of  the  negro  it  is  difficult  to  deal  with  the 
question. 

The  most  reliable  data  are  probably  those  of  the  army 
during  the  war,  which  have  been  so  frequently  made  use 
of  in  this  work.  According  to  the  statistics  of  the  Pro- 
vost-Marshal General  the  rate  of  rejections  for  insanity 
was  0.808  per  1,000  for  the  white  applicants  for  enlist- 
ment, and  0.503  per  1,000  for  the  colored.  This  would 
give  an  excess  of  60.6  per  cent",  for  insanity  among  the 
white  males  of  military  age.  During  the  war  the  dis- 
charge rate  was  0.34  per  1,000  for  the  whites  and  0.18 
for  the  colored,  a  difference  of  almost  one  hundred  per 
cent,  in  favor  of  the  colored  troops.  While  the  rate  of 
rejections  was  less  among  the  colored,  the  rate  of  dis- 
charges for  mental  diseases  was  still  lower,  as  compared 
with  the  white  troops.  These  statistics  support  the 
general  opinion  that  insanity  was  not  a  common  disease 
among  the  colored  population  before  the  war. 

If  we  compare  this  low  rate  of  insanity  among  the 
colored  men  in  the  army,  with  the  prevalence  of  this 
disease  among  the  colored  refugees  cared  for  by  the 
Freedmen's  Bureau,  we  meet  with  a  somewhat  different 
condition. 


INSANITY  AMONa  THE  REFUGEES  CARED  FOR  BY  THE  FREEDMEN'S 
BUREAU. 


Cases  of 

Per 

Deaths. 

Per 

Insanity. 

100.000. 

100,0000. 

White   .    .    .    , 

54 

235 

3 

1-3 

Colored    .    .    , 

1,171 

272 

73 

16.6 

'Sanity  aud  lusauity,"  by  Dr.  Mercer,  p.  2S7. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    129 

It  is  here  sliown  that  the  number  of  insane  patients 
and  the  number  of  deaths  from  insanity  was  larger 
among  the  general  colored  population  than  among  the 
whites  during  the  period  immediately  after  the  war.  I 
am  not  inclined  to  believe  that  these  figures  indicate 
an  actual  increase  in  insanity,  since  the  effect  of  the  war 
on  the  general  colored  population  may  have  been  a  ma- 
terial factor  in  the  large  number  of  cases.  More  espe- 
cially do  I  believe  this  in  view  of  the  fact  that  we 
have  no  information  as  to  the  forms  of  insanity,  and 
since  it  is  highly  probable  that  insanity  of  a  serious 
nature  was  not  frequent ;  for  there  is  no  proof  of  such 
an  increase  in  the  statistics  of  the  Government  Hospital 
for  the  Insane  at  Washington,  into  which  colored  per- 
sons have  been  admitted  almost  from  the  time  the  in- 
stitution was  opened  in  1856.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  superintendent  of  the  asylum  calls  attention  to 
the  matter  in  the  following  words,  which  apply  to  both 
races:  "Contrary  to  the  anticipations  which  history 
authorized  us  to  entertain  at  the  outset  of  the  struggle, 
the  admissions  of  civil  cases  in  this  institution,  situated 
in  the  very  midst  of  the  perturbations  of  the  war,  have 
been  fewer  during  the  last  two  years  than  before."^  It  is 
therefore  very-  doubtful  whether  the  higher  rate  of  in- 
sanity among  the  colored  refugees  indicated  an  actual 
increase  of  insanity.  The  table  below  will  show  the  ad- 
missions to  the  Government  Hospital  for  the  period  1856 
-1894. 

'  Report  of  the  Sup't  of  tlie  Gov't  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  1S60-63, 

p.  21. 


128 

9 

55 

15 

1,096 

25 

94 

23 

937 

75 

119 

33 

731 

56 

i6o 

42 

715 

84 

iSi 

65 

870 

127 

214 

86 

977 

153 

261 

loS 

1,129 

192 

253 

141 

130  American  Econoviic  Association. 

ADMISSIONS  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT  HOSPITAL  FOR  THE  INSANE, 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C— 1856-1894. 


1S56-59 
1860-64 
1865-69 
1870-74 
1875-79 
18S0-84 
1S85-S9 
1890-94 


The  increase  of  colored  patients  during  the  period  of 
1865-69  was  ahnost  entirely  among  males,  and  of  the 
75  admissions  34  were  soldiers.  As  I  have  said  before, 
it  is  extremely  difficult  to  reason  from  the  statistics  of 
insanity,  and  not  having  been  able  to  study  in  detail  the 
published  data,  I  submit  the  following  tables  for  Vir- 
ginia, Georgia  and  Pennsylvania,  principally  for  the  pur- 
pose of  calling  attention  to  the  need  of  a  thorough  in- 
quir}'  into  the  subject. 

YEARLY   ADMISSIONS   OF   INSANE    PERSONS   TO   THE   CENTRAL   AND 

EASTERN  HOSPITALS  FOR  THE  INSANE  IN  THE 

STATE  OF  YIRGINIA.i    1S8S-1S94. 

Central  Hospital— Colored.  Eastern  Hospital— White. 
Male.          Female.  Male.        Female. 

188S 108       98  44       6 

1889 99       76  51      20 

1890 89      67  65      13 

1S9I 141       102  70       22 

1892 44      29  63     33 

1893 121     114  35     26 

1894 99      77  70     42 

1  Annual  reports  of  the  Eastern  and  Central  State  Hospitals,  1888-1894. 


i 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    131 

INSANE    PERSONS   CONFINED    IN    HOSPITALS   IN    PENNSYLVANIA    AT 
THE  END  OF  EACH  YEAR  FOR  THE  PERIOD    1887-1894.' 

Males.  Females. 

White.         Colored.  \Vhite.  Colored. 

1687  ......  30S1  84  2999  65 

iSSS 3231  70  3"4  95 

1SS9 3434  76  326S  106 

1S90 3697  89  3495  118 

1891 3S03  92  3641  113 

1S92 3923  9S  3725  109 

1S93 4065  105  3805  129 

1894  .    .    .  4346  127  4013  130 

'  Annual  reports  of  the  Pennsylvania  state  board  of  lunacy,  1887-1894. 

INSANE  PERSONS  CONFINED   IN  THE  STATE   LUNATIC  ASYLUM   OF 
GEORGIA  AT  THE  END  OF  EACH  YEAR  FOR  THE  PERIOD  1890-94.1 

Males  and  Females. 
White.  Colored. 

1890 I0S9  477 

189I II42  523 

1892 io6r  509 

■1893 1146  530 

1894 1204  539 

'Annual  reports  of  the  Georgia  State  Lunatic  Asylum,  1S90-94. 

The  statistics  of  the  Government  Hospital  for  the  In- 
sane would  indicate  a  considerable  increase  in  insanity 
among  the  colored  population  of  Washington  ;  but  if  the 
increase  in  population  and  the  admission  of  colored 
soldiers  from  all  parts  of  the  country  is  taken  into  ac- 
count, as  well  as  the  possible  admission  of  colored 
patients  from  the  surrounding  country,  it  remains  to  be 
proven  whether  there  has  been  an  actual  increase  of 
insanity  or  not.  According  to  Mr.  Bruce,  who  had  ex- 
ceptional opportunities  for  observation,  lunacy  is  very 
uncommon  among  the  colored  population  of  Southside 
Virginia,  and  this  is  true  for  other  parts  of  the  state,  as 
I  know  from  personal  observation.  The  irregular  num- 
ber of  admissions  to  the  colored  insane  asylum  do  not 
afford  a  fair  means  of  estimating  the  probable  increase, 
and  the  statistics  for  Georgia  and  Pennsylvania  are  for 
too  short  a  period  to  prove  a  decided  tendency  towards  a 


;2  American  Economic  Association. 


greater  prevalence  of  insanity  among  the  colored  popula- 
tion. The  following  table  will  show  the  proportion  of 
admissions  to  Virginia  state  institutions  for  various  age 
groups  of  both  races  : 

NUMBER  OF  INSANE  AT  EACH  AGE  AND  PROPORTION  TO   TOTAL   AT 
TIME  OF  ATTACK  OF  INSANITY. 

Age.                              Colored.'  Percentage.      White.2  Percentage. 

Under  15        87  2.85  83  3.88 

15-20 333  10.89  186  8.69 

20-25 3S6  12.63  302  1412 

25-30 406  13-29  270  12.62 

30-35 371  12.14  23S  II. 13 

35-40 365  11-94  22.S  1066 

40-45 2S9  9.46  1S2  8.51 

45-50 216  7-07  153  7-15 

50-60 207  6.77  190  8.89 

60-70 134  4-39  112  5.23 

70-80 56  1.83  31  1-45 

80  and  over  ...        10  .33  i  0.05 

Unknovvu  ....      196  6  41  163  7.62 

Total 3056  100.00  2139  100.00 

1  Admissions  to  the  Central  State  Hospital  from  the  beginning  to  September  30, 
1894. 

2  Admissions  to  the  Eastern  State  Hospital  from  1S6S  to  September  30,  1894. 

It  would  appear  from  this  table  that  there  is  a  very 
slight  tendency  towards  a  higher  rate  of  admissions  for  the 
earlier  age  groups  of  the  colored  race.  This  might  in- 
dicate an  increase  of  insanity  since  such  increa.se  would 
probably  appear  first  in  the  younger  generation.  In  the 
absence  of  comparative  statistics  I  give  the  information 
for  the  benefit  of  those  who  may  wish  to  pursue  this  in- 
teresting subject  farther  than  it  has  been  possible  for  me 
to  do.  It  must  be  taken  into  consideration  that  insanity 
is  more  frequent  among  the  natives  of  Africa  than  might 
be  supposed.  The  only  statistics  wdiich  have  come  to 
mv  notice  are  those  of  the  lunatic  asylum  of  Sierra 
Leone  for  the  period  1843-53.  The  table  abstracted 
from  Dr.  Clark's  report  may  be  of  enough  interest  to 
warrant  its  being  inserted  here. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    133 

NUMBER   OF   LUNATICS   UNDER   TREATMENT,  AND    DEATHS,  IN   THE 
COLONIAL  HOSPITAL  AT  SIERRA  LEONE.  WEST  AFRICA— i843-i853.» 


1S43.  .  ■ 

58 

13 

1S49.    .    . 

IS44.  .  . 

54 

II 

1850  .    .    . 

IS45    •  • 

54 

17 

1851  .    .    . 

1846  .  .  . 

52 

19 

1S52  .    .    . 

IS47  ■  •  • 

56 

15 

1853  .    .    . 

1848  .  .  . 

43 

13 

Total  . 

ases. 

Deaths 

61 

19 

54 

I  I 

88 

14 

II 

26 

98         23 
729  181 


'^Journal  of  the  Royal  Statistical  Society,  Vol.  XIX,  p.  8i. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  number  of  lunatics  ad- 
mitted during  the  period  covered  by  this  table  was  727, 
which  would  clearly  prove  that  insanity  was  not  an  un- 
common disease  among  the  natives  of  Africa  at  the  time. 
The  prevalence  of  the  disease  at  the  present  time  may, 
therefore,  be  as  much  due  to  the  consequences  of  heredity 
as  to  the  effects  of  the  struggle  for  life.  In  the  West 
Indies,  where  the  colored  population  leads  an  existence 
free  from  all  mental  strain  and  physical  over-exertion,  I 
find  that  the  rate  of  insanity  is  about  the  same  as 
the  census  rate  for  the  colored  population  of  the  United 
States.  The  statistics  of  insanity  for  the  West  Indies 
are,  however,  subject  to  all  the  objections  that  have  been 
advanced  against  the  data  for  the  United  States  ;  though 
the  element  of  error  is  probably  the  same  in  the  English 
colonies  as  in  this  country. 

RATES  OF  INSANE  TER  i,ooo  OF  POPULATION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 
AND  THE  WEST  INDIES— 18S1-1891. 


iSS-i. 

1S91. 

United  States  (colored)      .    . 

2.4' 

2.3' 

Jamaica 

1.4 

1.8 

1.1 

Trinidad 

1-9 

2.8 

Grenada    

British  Guiana 

2.2 

Leeward  Island 

2.0 

Barbadoes    

2.6 

'  For  1880  and  1890. 


134  Aynerican  Economic  Association. 

I  have  diligently  searched  for  more  reliable  informa- 
tion on  the  rate  of  insanity  and  the  tendency  of  the 
colored  population  with  regard  to  it,  and  the  statistics 
here  given  constitute  what  seemed  to  me  the  most  re- 
liable body  of  facts  bearing  on  the  subject.  They  do 
not  prove  that  there  has  been  any  decided  tendency 
toward  an  increase  in  the  insanity  rate  of  the  colored 
population — which,  however,  a  more  careful  inquiry 
might  disclose. 

Suicide  among  the  colored  population  is  very  rare 
and  the  most  careful  examination  of  the  available  sta- 
tistical material  fails  to  disclose  any  decided  tendency 
towards  a  change.  There  have  been  frequent  statements 
to  the  contrary,  and  even  so  careful  a  writer  as  ]\Iorselli' 
speaks  of  "  the  extraordinary  propensity  of  blacks  to 
suicide."  The  New  York  Medical  Examiner  a  few 
years  ago  quoted  with  approval  the  statement :  "  It  is 
said  that  before  the  war  suicide  among  the  colored  popu- 
lation was  very  infrequent,  but  since  they  have  been 
compelled  to  earn  their  living  by  their  own  exertion, 
this  form  of  death  has  become  quite  common."  But,  as  I 
have  said,  there  is  no  proof  for  this  assertion,  and  suicide 
among  the  colored  population  is  apparently  as  infrequent 
now  as  it  was  before  the  war.  In  fact,  there  have  been 
times  when  self-destruction  among  the  slave  or  freed 
colored  population  prevailed  even  to  the  extent  of  an 
epidemic,  and  suicide  among  the  slave  population  has 
been  recorded  by  many  writers  on  the  negro  in  Africa  and 
on  this  continent.  One  of  the  earliest  references  to 
negro  suicide  I  find,  is  in  the  history  of  a  negro  settle- 
ment in  Brazil,  sometime  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
At  the  time  of  the  Dutch  invasion,  some  negro  slaves 
escaping  from  Pernambuco  settled  in  the  forest  of  Pal- 

'  "  Suicide,"  page  133. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   135 

mairas,  in  the  province  of  Alagoas.  Their  number  soon 
increased  to  several  thousands  and  for  more  than  sixty 
years  they  maintained  their  independence,  repulsing  first 
the  attacks  of  the  Dutch  and  afterwards  those  of  the 
Portuguese,  and  were  not  subdued  till  1679,  by  an  army 
from  S.  Paulo.  When  defeat  was  certain,  several  negro 
chiefs  leaped  from  a  high  rock  to  death,  which  they  pre- 
ferred to  slavery.'  An  almost  identical  case  is  cited  by 
Bryan  Edwards  in  his  history  of  the  West  Indies,-  where 
some  of  the  IMaroons,  when  defeat  was  inevitable  before 
the  advancing  forces  of  the  British,  hurled  themselves 
over  the  precipices  and  were  dashed  to  pieces  on  the 
rocks  below. 

Epidemics  of  suicide  among  negro  slaves  have  been  cited 
by  H.  W.  Bates  in  his  work  on  "  Central  x\merica,  the 
West  Indies  and  South  America,"  (London,  1878).  The 
cause  of  these  was  a  simple  resolution  on  the  part  of  the 
slaves  to  die  e7i  masse.,  and  was  not  due  to  any  ill  treatment 
on  the  part  of  their  masters.^  These  epidemics  may  have 
been  due  to  a  belief  that  after  death  they  were  to  be  restored 
to  their  native  land  and  enjoy  their  friends'  society  in  a 
future  state.^  In  a  report  on  "  The  Medical  and  Miscel- 
laneous Observations  Relating  to  the  West  India  Islands," 
Dr.  John  Williams,  in  181 7,  refers  to  this  interesting 
phase  of  the  subject  as  follows:  "The  ill-disposed 
toward  their  masters  will  sometimes  be  guilty  of  suicide  ; 
or  by  resolute  determination  resort  to  dirt  eating  and 

1  "  Hand  Book  of  Brazil,"  page  10. 

2  Bryan  Edwards,  "  History  of  the  British  Colonies  in  the  West 
Indies,"  London,  iSor,  Vol.  I. 

'O'Dea,  "  Suicide,"  page  197. 

*"They  [the  negro  slaves  on  the  Central  American  plantations]  will 
form  a  general  resolution  to  poison  themselves  all  round  and  will 
carry  it  out  with  the  greatest  stoicism,  and  this  without  being  nec- 
essarily driven  to  it  by  ill  treatment."  W.  H.  Bates,  quoted  by  O'Dea, 
"Suicide,"  p.  197. 


136  American  Economic  Association. 

thus  produce  disease  and  at  length  death.  It  is  often 
necessary  to  check  this  spirit,  and  as  negroes  imagine 
that  if  decapitation  be  inflicted  after  death  the  transition 
to  their  native  country  cannot  follow,  a  humane  princi- 
ple leads  the  proprietor  to  have  the  head  of  such  a  negro 
placed  in  some  prominent  situation  and  such  has  been 
found  a  salutary  mode  of  deterring  the  rest  from  conduct 
so  destructive."' 

The  method  here  applied  to  check  the  tendency  to 
suicide  is  very  much  the  same  as  that  in  the  case  of  the 
Milesian  virgins.  That  dirt  eating  was  resorted  to  by 
resolute  determination  to  suicide  is  very  doubtful, 
however,  for  clay  eating  is  not  infrequent  even  at  the 
present  time  and  can  hardly  be  connected  with  a  ten- 
dency to  suicide.  If  the  habit  can  be  called  a  disease, 
and  it  probably  is,  it  is  met  with  among  negroes  under 
all  conditions.  Thus  the  liberated  slaves  cared  for  at 
the  colonial  hospital  at  Sierra  Leone  were  "  frequently  at- 
tacked with  mald^'estoinac  or  dirt  eating."-  According  to 
Dr.  Robert  Clark  it  was  induced  by  nostalgia.^  According 
to  Cartw;right,*  dirt  eating  was  not  uncommon  among 
slaves  and  was  largely  due  to  a  depressed  mental  condition 
induced  by  superstitious  fears  of  having  been  poisoned  or 

1  DeBow,  "South  and  West."  Vol.  I,  pp.  92-93. 
'^  Journal  Royal  Statistical  Society,  1856,  p.  61. 

•'The  prevalence  of  and  mortalitj-  from  nostalgia  among  the  white 
and  colored  soldiers  during  the  war  was  as  follows  : 

Cases.  Deaths.  Deaths  per  1,000  cases. 

White  troops  .    .    .    .5.213  5^  "-6 

Colored  troops   ...      334  J  6  499 

Among  the  freed  people  under  the  care  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  there 
were  loS  cases  of  nostalgia  among  the  colored  and  6  cases  among  the 
white  refugees,  a  rate  of  2.5  per  1,000  for  the  former  and  2.8  for  the 
latter.  While  therefore  the  disease  was  about  equally  prevalent,  it 
was  much  more  fatal  among  the  colored  soldiers  during  the  war. 
*  DeBow,  "South  and  West,"  Vol.  II,  p.  321. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    137 

conjured.  According  to  Ribot,'  dirt  eating  presents  a 
curious  instance  of  morbid  heredity,  and  according  to 
Humboldt,  it  is  met  with  in  all  tropical  countries.  In 
Alabama  at  the  present  time  (Winston  Co.)  several  hun- 
dred white  families  are  addicted  to  this  habit  and  as  a 
cause  or  effect  they  are  extremely  superstitious.  TIius 
it  is  extremely  doubtful  whether  dirt  eating  has  a  direct 
relation  to  suicide,  unless  it  creates  a  morbid  state  of 
mind  favorable  to  the  act. 

In  Hayti  we  have  record  of  the  suicide  of  Christophe 
and  others  who  preferred  death  to  imprisonment  or  a 
worse  fate  at  the  hands  of  their  enemies.  B.  S.  Hunt, 
in  his  pamphlet  on  "  Hayti  and  the  Mulatto,"  writes 
that  "  suicide,  y&rw^r/j  JO  common  amongst  the  slaves 
is  now  almost  unknown  in  Hayti.  Since  1842  [this  was 
written  in  i860]  only  three  instances  of  it  in  which 
Haytians  were  the  subjects,  have  come  to  my  notice. 
One,  an  officer  disgraced,  hanged  himself ;  a  retired  citi- 
zen, insane,  cut  his  throat ;  a  merchant  embarrassed  in 
his  affairs  took  poison.  All  were  men  of  education  and 
light  color."  2  I  could  give  many  other  instances  of  this 
order,  but  will  conclude  with  a  reference  to  the  case  cited 
by  Burmeister,  of  the  negro  slave  who,  after  building  a 
house  for  his  master,  was  refused  his  freedom  and  in  a 
fit  of  despondency  put  an  end  to  his  life.'^  Darwin  quotes 
Reade  to  the  effect  that  even  among  the  negroes  on  the 
west  coast  of  Africa  suicide  was  common.' 

It  is  therefore  plain  from  the  facts  before  us  that 
suicide  was  more  or  less  frequent  among  the  negro  pop- 
ulation under  various  conditions  and  as  the  result  of  a 
variety  of  causes.     In  no  wise  does  the  negro  show  a 

'  Heredity,"  p.  88. 

2  Pages  18-19. 

=*  Essay  ou  the  negro  of  Brazil,  page  15  ;  Evening  /l>j^  reprint,  1S56. 

•*"  Descent  of  Man,"  Ch.  IV. 


138  American  Eco7iomic  Association. 

special  race  characteristic.  The  cases  cited  could  be 
duplicated  by  those  of  other  races.'  Nowhere  is  there 
shown  a  specific  tendency  towards  self  destruction.  Only 
under  exceptional  conditions,  such  as  have  at  all  times 
induced  people  to  end  their  own  existence,  do  we  find 
the  negro  giving  way  in  a  moment  of  despair.- 

For  Charleston,  S.  C,  the  record  for  the  period  1822- 
48  shows  that  only  nine  colored  persons  killed  them- 
selves during  the  twenty-eight  years,  while  40  whites 
took  their  own  lives.  During  the  6  years  1889-94  there 
were  three  suicides  among  the  colored  and  twelve  among 
the  whites.  This  is  at  the  rate  of  one  suicide  to  every 
two  years,  a  number  too  small  to  have  any  definite  rela- 
tion to  the  population  in  general.  For  Philadelphia  I 
have  the  records  for  1866-94  which  fail  to  indicate  any 
decided  tendency  towards  an  increase  in  negro  suicides.^ 

'See  article  on  "vSuicide  atiiong  Primitive  Peoples"  in  the  Ameri- 
can^ Anthropologist,  1S94. 

^  From  such  statistics  as  have  come  to  my  notice,  suicide  would 
appear  nearly  twice  as  frequent  among  the  American  Indians  as 
among  the  colored  population.  The  following  are  the  number  of 
suicides  as  reported  to  the  Commissiouer  of  Indian  affairs  : 

Year.  No.  of  Suicides.  Year.  No  of  Suicides. 

1882 13  1S89 12 

1883 6  1890 II 

1884 2  1S9I 14 

1885 3  1892 13 

1886 6  1893 12 

1887 *  1894 14 

1888 *  1895 16 

*  Not  reported. 

On  an  estimated  population  of  250,000  the  above  figures  would  give 
an  average  rate  per  million  of  52.6  for  the  seven  3-ears  18S9-95  in  con- 
trast with  an  average  rate  of  28.1  for  the  colored  population  of  eight 
representative  southern  cities,  during  the  period  1890-94. 

^  During  the  war  there  were  only  nine  colored  suicides  in  the  army 
and  during  the  twenty  years  since  the  war  (1870-90)  only  seven 
Among  the  400,000  patients  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  only  three  com- 
mitted suicide,  although  1171  were  treated  for  madness. 


J 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   139 

SUICIDES  AMONG  THE  COLORED  POPULATION  OF  PHILADELPHIA, 

1866-1894.' 


No.  of 

No.  of 

No.  of 

No.  of 

Year. 

cases. 

Year. 

cases. 

Year. 

cases. 

Year. 

cases. 

1866 

None 

1873 

None 

1S80 

None 

18S7 

2 

1S67 

None 

1874 

None 

i88r 

None 

18SS 

None 

1S6S 

None 

1S75 

None 

1SS2 

None 

1889 

I 

1S69 

r 

1S76 

None 

1883 

None 

1890 

3 

1S70 

I 

1877 

None 

1SS4 

None 

1891 

1S71 

I 

187S 

None 

18S5 

None 

1892 

I 

1S72 

I 

1879 

None 

18S6 

None 

1S93 
1894 

2 
2 

1864-96.— sixteen  during  twenty-nine  years. 

'Annual  report  Philadelphia  Board  of  Health,  1894,  pages  333-334. 

According  to  Dr.  Billings  the  rate  for  Philadelphia 
per  100,000  of  population  over  15  years  of  age  was  3.20 
for  the  colored  population,  while  the  rate  for  the  whites 
was  12.99,  ^"^  that  of  the  foreign  population,  23.57. 
But  if  this  rate  had  been  calculated  on  1891  the  rela- 
tion would  have  been  entirely  reversed.  Instead  of  three 
we  had  only  one  colored  suicide,  and  instead  of  jj  whites 
there  were  107.  Hence  the  futility  of  reasoning  from 
rates  based  on  too  small  a  number  of  cases,  and  the  need 
of  taking  account  rather  of  the  actual  numbers.  The 
table  which  follows  ^shows  the  actual  number  of  col- 
ored suicides  for  the  period  1876-94,  with  the  records 
for  a  few  years  wanting.  The  table  is  for  the  four 
cities,  Washington,  Baltimore,  New  Orleans  and  Rich- 
mond, all  representative  cities  of  the  South. 

SUICIDES  AMONG  THE  COLORED  POPULATION  OF  SOUTHERN  CITIES. 


Washington.      Baltimore.    New  Orleans.     Richmond. 

1876 -  -  t                       t 

1877 -  -  .                 I 

1878 -  -  I                        ■(- 

1879 -  -  I                .        - 

1880 2  -  I                  '         - 

1881 -  -  I                           t 

1882 2  -  I                           I 

1883 2  -  5 

1884 I  I  5 

t  No  record. 


140  American  Economic  Association. 


1885 
1 886 
18S7 
1 888 
1SS9 
i8;)o 
1S91 
1892 
1S93 
1894 


^'asliingtou. 

Ballimore. 

N 

cw  Orleans. 

Rich 

- 

- 

4 

3 

I 

4 

3 

2 

- 

I 

I 

4 
3 

•' 

I 

- 

2 

- 

3 

2 

2 

- 

2 

t 

3 

- 

I 

t 

6 

- 

4 

t 

4 

2 

t  No  record. 

This  table  does  not  show  that  there  is  any  decided 
tendency  towards  an  increase  in  the  number  of  suicides. 
In  fact  it  shows  that  in  proportion  to  the  population 
there  has  rather  been  a  decrease.  But  I  would  not  argue 
on  the  basis  of  the  population,  for  such  basis  can  only 
be  applied  when  there  is  an  actual  relation  between  the 
general  population  and  a  certain  series  of  ob.served  facts. 
With  the  possible  exception  of  New  Orleans  there 
is  no  regularity  in  the  number  of  cases  of  colored  sui- 
cides, and  hence,  I  doubt  whether  there  is  any  influence 
in  the  physical,  mental  or  moral  life  of  the  colored  peo- 
ple tending  to  increase  the  number  of  suicides.  In  New 
York  city,  where  the  conditions  of  life  are  probably  most 
unfavorable  for  the  negro,  only  12  cases  of  suicide  oc- 
curred among  the  colored  during  the  six  years  1885-90, 
an  average  of  about  two  cases  per  annum.  In  Brooklyn 
during  the  same  period  only  three  occurred,  while  in 
Boston  only  one  case  was  recorded  during  that  period.' 

The  negro  commits  suicide,  as  a  rule,  only  in  a  fit  of 
passion,  during  loss  of  self  control,  or  as  in  most  cases,  to 

'  During  the  census  year  euding  Isl&y  31,  1S90,  there  were  reported 
3S16  white  suicides  and  116  colored.  In  proportion  to  the 
population  this  would  give  a  rate  of  69.5  per  niillion  for  the  whiles 
and  15.5  per  million  for  the  colored.  Hence  the  white  rate  is  shown 
to  be34S.4  per  cent,  in  excess  of  the  colored  rale.     \Ve  may  compare 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   141 

escape  the  consequences  of  his  crimes.  I  have  been  able 
dnring  a  number  of  years  to  collect  the  facts  concerning 
18  suicides  among  colored  people  and  the  following  is 
an  analysis  of  the  motives  that  prompted  them. 

Out  of  the  18  one  was  a  woman  who  ended  her  life  at 
the  age  of  32  because  her  husband  proved  her  guilty  of 
adultery  with  a  white  man.  Another  woman  killed 
herself  because  the  man  she  wanted  to  marry  already 
had  a  wife.  Of  the  16  males,  9  were  guilty  of  crime 
at  the  time  of  their  death.  Eight  had  killed  either 
wife  or  mistress  or  the  wife  of  some  other  man  be- 
fore ending  their  own  lives.  In  one  case  a  man  was 
accused    of   theft    by    a   railroad   company   and    rather 

this  calculation,  based,  as  it  must  be  admitted,  on  incomplete  returns, 
with  the  statistics  for  eight  representative  southern  cities  for  the 
period  1890-94. 

MORTALITY  FROM  SUICIDE  IN  EIGHT   SOUTHERN  CITIES  DURING 

THE  FIVE  YEARS  i890-i894.i 

(Per  million  of  population.) 

White.  Colored. 

Savannah,  Ga 344-8  16. i 

Nevp  Orleans,  La 195. i  51.4 

Nashville,  Tenn 194.0  36.S 

Washington,  D.  C 1S0.2  26.9 

Memphis,  Tenn 176.0  24.3 

Atlanta,  Ga 104.7  12.7 

Charleston,  S.  C .  91. i  18.8 

Richmond,   Va 57.4  11. 9 

Eight  cities 171.3  28.1 

1  Mean  population  of  eight  cities  18(30-94,      White,  573,173 

Colored,  335,008 

Total  number  of  suicides  1S90-94,    .   .   .       White,         491 

Colored,  47 

According  to  this  table,  which  is  as  accurate  as  present  registration 
methods  can  make  it,  the  white  suicide  rate  was  171. 3  per  million 
against  a  colored  rate  of  only  281.  There  would  therefore  seem  to 
be  no  decided  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  negro  population  to  com- 
mit suicide  under  the  influences  of  city  life,  but  rather  under  any 
exceptionally  abnormal  condition,  not  necessarily  connected  with  the 
struggle  for  life  in  the  cities. 
10 


142  American  Economic  Association. 

than  stand  trial  shot  himself.  Two  negroes,  one  in 
New  York  and  the  other  in  Chicago,  killed  themselves 
to  escape  arrest.  Two  were  apparently  insane  when 
they  committed  the  act,  one  from  the  effects  of  la 
grippe,  and  the  other  (a  teacher)  from  canses  not 
ascertained.  Another  case  was  that  of  a  man  in  Ala- 
bama, who  had  once  been  a  prosperous  farmer ;  but  bad 
crops  had  ruined  him  and  rather  than  give  up  his 
mortgaged  horses  he  deliberately  drove  them  over  a 
bluff,  killing  the  horses  and  himself.  One,  a  jockey, 
killed  himself  because  the  woman  with  whom  he  was 
living  in  adultery  deserted  him.  The  last  case  was  that 
of  a  young  colored  man  who  attempted  suicide  '  because 
his  mistress  had  treated  him  shabbily."  In  all  of  the 
instances  cited,  the  underlying  motive  appears  to  have 
been  criminal  or  ani-social.  In  none  of  the  cases  can 
we  trace  any  of  the  more  subtle  moti\'es  which  only  too 
often  prompt  the  unsuccessful  or  weak  of  more  cultured 
and  advanced  races. 

From  the  facts  given  there  does  not  appear  to  be  any 
decided  tendency  toward  an  increase  in  the  suicide  rate  ; 
and  this  agrees  with  the  facts  brought  out  regarding  the 
prevalence  of   alcoholism  and  insanity.     ]Mr.   Bruce  in 

^  It  may  be  of  interest  to  give  the  following  facts  in  regard  to  the 
methods   employed   in   the  commission  of  suicide.     The  data  have 
been  compiled  from  the  census  of  iSgoand  show  the  actual  numbers 
as  well  as  the  per  cent,  of  each  group  in  the  total  for  all  suicides. 
Whites.        Percent.      Colored.      Percent. 
Method.  Cases.  Cases. 

Shooting 1,035  27.1  31  26.7 

Drowning 217  5.7  7  6.0 

Poison S29  21.7  29  25.0 

Other  method.   .    .    .    1,735  45.5  49  42-3 

Total 3,816         100.00  116         100.00 

According  to  this  table  there  would  seem  to  be  no  distinct  trait  in 
regard  to  the  means  selected,  but  rather  a  close  similarity  to  those 
made  use  of  by  the  white  population. 


J 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  America^i  Neg7-o.    143 

his  work  on  the  "  Plantation  Negro  as  a  Freeman,"  re- 
marks :  "  As  a  corollary  of  their  comparative  immunity 
from  insanity  for  moral  reasons,  it  is  found  that  the 
blacks  rarely  commit  suicide,  a  fact  easy  of  explanation 
when  a  full  knowledge  of  the  character  of  the  race  has 
been  obtained.  In  the  first  place  no  cause  of  anxiety 
presses  long  enough  upon  the  mind  of  the  individual 
negro  to  foster  a  desire  to  put  an  end  to  life  .... 
then,  too,  he  lacks  the  coolness  and  fortitude  to  destroy 
himself:  above  all  he  has  a  peculiar  horror  of  death, 
owing  to  his  morbid  imagination  and  not  improbably 
to  his  tendency  to  live  wholly  in  the  present." 

SLuicide,  according  to  IMorselli  "  preponderates  in  those 
states  which  are  most  advanced  in  civilization  and  above 
all  in  intellectual  development.  .  .  .  The  inferior 
races,  just  because  they  withhold  themselves  from  the  in- 
fluences of  civil  progress  do  not  acquire  any  increased  ten- 
dency, even  amid  contact  with  Europeans,  or  at  least 
only  by  slow  degrees  and  in  proportion  as  they  adopt 
our  civilization."  ^ 

Now  it  is  true  that  suicide  is  most  frequent  in  those 
states  where  intellectual  culture  has  advanced  most,  but 
it  is  not  true  that  it  is  intellectual  culture  which  has 
caused  the  increase,  but  rather  the  want  of  it  or  the  mal- 
adjustment of  the  individual  to  the  conditions  of  life. 
As  Morselli  has  said  elsewhere,  "  all  transition  is  pain- 
ful "  and  the  lesson  of  life  which  so  few  will  accept,  is 
that  during  individual  as  well  as  social  evolution  we 
must  have  patience  and  do  our  duty  in  whatever  manner 
it  is  placed  before  us.  The  individual  who  attempts  by 
some  means  or  others  to  overcome  by  force  the  obstacles 
that  hinder  him  from  reaching  the  level  of  others  will 
often,  in  despair,  end  his  own  life,  but  more  often  be- 

'  "Suicide,"  page  118. 


144  American  Economic  Association. 

cause  he  violated  the  common  law  and  lacks  courage  to 
face  the  result. 

"  It  may  confidentially  be  assumed,"  writes  ]\Ir.  Hum- 
phreys, "  that  the  most  important  branch  of  vital  statis- 
tics is  that  which  deals  with  deaths  and  rates  of  mor- 
tality. This  is  not  only  the  most  complex  branch  of  the 
subject,  deserving  the  most  careful  study,  but  the  in- 
fluence of  health  on  the  human  race  is  so  powerful  for 
good  or  evil  that  statistics  of  deaths,  and  rates  of  mortality 
acquire  their  greatest  value  for  their  acceptation  as  trust- 
worthy indications  of  public  health."  That  this  con- 
clusion is  fully  warranted,  has,  I  trust,  been  proven  by 
the  preceding  pages,  which  so  far  as  I  know,  represent 
a  summary  of  the  most  important  and  reliable  data 
pertaining  to  the  comparative  mortality  of  the  two 
races. 

As  to  the  value  of  the  conclusions  arrived  at,  or  rather 
as  to  the  results  brought  out  by  the  comparative  mor- 
tality rates,  I  accept  the  statistical  method  as  the  most 
useful  and  reliable  which  has  yet  been  devised  for 
reaching  conclusions  more  definite  and  scientific  than 
individual  observation  or  opinions.  By  the  statistical 
method  we  have  before  us  a  picture  of  the  condition, 
past  and  present,  of  the  whole  race,  and  by  the  compara- 
tive method  we  can  obtain  information  which  will 
present  with  much  accuracy  the  probable'  tendencies  of 
one  race  in  comparison  with  another. 

In  regard  to  the  statistics  of  mortality  for  American 
cities,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  to  a  limited  degree  they  fall 
short  of  a  representation  of  the  actual  facts.  But,  in  the 
words  of  Mr.  Milme,  "  it  may  reasonably  be  presumed 
that  the  returned  numbers  are  always  in  the  same  ratio 
to  the  true,  and  this  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  the  truth 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro,    i 


45 


of  the  inferences  drawn  .  .  .  .  for  it  is  not  abso- 
lute numbers,  but  their  relative  proportions  only  that 
are  essential  to  the  calculations.'  "  On  the  assumption, 
therefore,  that  the  statistics  of  mortality  represent  fairly 
the  actual  differences  between  the  viability  of  the  two 
races,  the  following  conclusions  seem  warranted  : 

First.  The  excess  of  births  over  deaths  is  greater  for 
the  white  race  than  for  the  colored  in  the  southern  states. 

Second.  In  the  northern  states  the  colored  race  does 
not  hold  its  own,  for  the  deaths  outnumber  the  births. 
The  apparent  increase  in  the  population  is  due  exclu- 
sively to  migration. 

Third.  For  ten  representative  southetn  cities  the  mean 
death  rate  for  five  years  (1890-94)  was  20.12  per  1,000 
for  the  white  race,  and  32.61  for  the  colored.  The  ex- 
cess of  mortality  represents  a  loss  of  16,046  lives  on  the 
basis  of  the  rate  of  mortality  for  the  whites  during  the 
five  years,  of  3,209  per  annum,  in  the  ten  cities.  On 
the  basis  of  Farr's  normal  death  rate  of  17  per  1,000, 
the  loss  in  lives  was  35,457  during  the  five  years.  On 
whatever  basis  we  may  estimate  the  value  of  a  life,  the 
economic  loss  alone  must  be  enormous. 

Fourth.  The  excess  of  negro  mortality  is  greatest  at 
the  age  period  under  fifteen  and  least  at  the  higher  ages. 
This  is  largely  the  result  of  an  excessive  mortality  of 
infants  and  children  under  five. 

Fifth.  The  number  surviving  to  productive  and  re- 
productive ages  is  in  consequence  of  this  excessive  infant 
mortality  considerably  less  for  the  colored  than  for  the 
whites,  and  by  just  so  much  their  comparative  social  and 
economic  efficiency  is  diminished. 

Sixth.  The  expectation  of  life  at  birth  is  from  12.5 
to  1 7. 1 1  years  less  for  the  colored  than  for  the  white 

^  •'  Value  of  Annuities  and  Assurance,"  Vol.  II. 


146  American  EconoDiic  Association. 

population  in  four  cities  for  which  life  tables  were  cal- 
culated at  the  census  of  1880. 

Seventh.  The  effect  of  altitude  and  density  of  popu- 
lation on  mortality  is  about  the  same  for  both  races  and 
the  differences  in  mortality  of  the  two  races  remain  prac- 
tically the  same.  The  effect  of  the  conditions  of  life 
is,  therefore,  comparatively  unimportant,  while  to  the 
effect  of  race  and  heredity  are  largely  due  the  existing 
differences  in  the  mortality  of  the  two  races. 

Eighth.  The  mortality  of  the  colored  race  is  on  the 
increase,  in  contrast  with  a  diminishing  death  rate  for 
the  white  race.  This  increase  in  the  negro  death  rate 
appears  entirely  in  the  period  which  has  elapsed  since 
emancipation. 

Ninth.  The  colored  race  is  subject  to  a  higher  death 
rate  than  the  whites  from  the  following  diseases  : 

(i).  All  diseases  of  infants,  including  premature  and 
still  births. 

(2).  Consumption,  at  all  ages,  but  most  especially  for 
the  age  group  15-45.  The  mortality  from  this  disease 
before  the  war  was  less  for  the  colored  than  for  the 
whites.  The  present  tendency  is  towards  a  still  higher 
death  rate  among  the  colored,  in  contrast  with  a  steady 
decrease  of  the  rate  among  the  whites. 

(3).  Pneumonia,  the  mortality  being  greatest  at  the 
early  ages.     This  disease  is  also  on  the  increase. 

(4).  Scrofula  and  venereal  diseases.  These  are  much 
more  prevalent  among  the  colored,  and  are  on  the  in- 
crease. 

(5).  Malarial  fevers,  contrary  to  general  opinion,  are 
more  prevalent  among  the  colored  population,  with  a 
decided  tendency  towards  an  increase. 

(6)  Typhoid  fever  is  more  prevalent  at  the  ages  be- 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    147 

low  45,  and  less  prevalent  at  the  ages  above  45.  The 
tendency  is  towards  an  increase. 

Tenth.  The  facts  for  the  other  diseases  may  be  sum- 
marized as  follows  : 

Yellow  fever,  contrary  to  general  opinion,  occasion- 
ally prevails  among  the  colored  race,  though  with  less 
severity  than  among  the  white  race.  There  is  a  decided 
tendency  toward  an  increase  in  the  susceptibility  to  this 
disease  among  the  colored  population. 

Smallpox  is  more  prevalent  among  the  colored,  but 
this  is  due  almost  entirely  to  an  unprotected  condition. 
When  vaccination  is  properly  attended  to  the  mortality 
is  easily  reduced,  and  there  is  a  decided  tendency  to- 
wards a  decrease  through  this  means. 

Measles,  sc.irlet  fever,  and  diptheria  are  as  a  rule  less 
prevalent  among  the  colored  population,  and  there  are 
no  positive  indications  of  an  increase.  The  opinion  held 
by  some,  that  the  negro  is  not  liable  to  scarlet  fever,  is 
disproved. 

Deaths  from  childbirth  and  puerperal  fever  are  more 
frequent  among  the  colored,  but  the  diseases  are  subject 
to  control.  The  high  mortality  is  entirely  the  result  of 
ignorance  and  want  of  proper  medical  attendance. 

Tumor  and  cancer  are  less  prevalent  among  the  col- 
ored, but  on  the  increase  among  the  population  below 
the  age  of  45.  Carcinoma  uteri,  from  which  some  writers 
have  supposed  the  negro  exempt,  is  prevalent,  though  to 
a  less  extent,  among  the  colored  population. 

Appendicitis,  another  disease  to  which  it  was  supposed 
the  negro  was  not  liable,  is  prevalent,  though  apparently 
to  a  less  extent  than  among  the  whites. 

Alcoholism  is  less  prevalent  than  among  the  whites 
and  there  is  no  positive  proof  of  a  tendency  towards  an 
increase. 


148  American  Economic  Association. 

Insanity  is  also  less  prevalent  with  no  positive  proof  of 
a  tendency  towards  an  increase. 

Suicides  are  rare  with  no  positive  indications  of  an  in- 
crease of  the  number. 

The  general  conclusion  is  that  the  negro  is  subject  to 
a  higher  mortality  at  all  ages,  but  especially  so  at  the 
early  age  periods.  This  is  largely  the  result  of  an  inor- 
dinate mortality  from  constitutional  and  respiratory 
diseases.  Moreover,  the  mortality  from  these  diseases  is 
on  the  increase  among  the  colored,  and  on  the  decrease 
among  the  whites.  In  consequence,  the  natural  increase 
in  the  colored  population  will  be  less  from  decade  to  de- 
cade and  in  the  end  a  decrease  must  take  place.  It  is 
sufficient  to  know  that  in  the  struggle  for  race  suprem- 
acy the  black  race  is  not  holding  its  own  ;  and  this  fact 
once  recognized,  all  danger  from  a  possible  numerical 
supremacy  of  the  race  vanishes.  Its  extreme  liability  to 
consumption  alone  would  suffice  to  seal  its  fate  as  a 
race.  That  alone  would  suffice  to  make  impossible 
numerical  supremacy  in  the  southern  states.  "  Sufferers 
from  phthisis,"  writes  Mr.  Haycraft,^  "  are  prone  to  other 
diseases  such  as  pulmonary  and  bronchial  attacks,  so 
that  over  and  above  the  vulnerability  to  the  one  form  of 
microbe,  they  are  to  be  looked  upon  as  unsuited  not 
only  for  the  battle  of  life  but  especially  for  parentage 
and  for  the  multiplications  of  the  conditions  for  which 
they  themselves  suffer." 

^  Haycraft,  "Darwinism  aud  Race  progress." 


Chapter  III. 

ANTHROPOMETRY. 

In  the  following  pages  I  shall  discuss  as  fully  as  the 
limited  material  will  permit,  the  anthropometric  charac- 
teristics of  the  colored  race  as  compared  with  the  whites. 
In  view  of  the  preceding  discussion  I  shall  confine  my- 
self almost  entirely  to  data  having  a  direct  bearing  on 
the  longevity  of  the  two  races  and  consequent  social  and 
economic  efficiency.  The  most  essential  characteristics 
falling  under  this  restricted  class  of  facts  are,  weight, 
play  of  chest,  lung  capacity_and  frequency  of  respiration. 

Tile  close^felation  of  weight  to  longevity  is  a  fact  suf- 
ficiently established  to  need  little  further  explanation. 
The  uniform  result  of  statistical  investigations  of  life 
insurance  companies  has  been  to  prove  that  persons 
under  average  weight  have  a  decided  tendency  towards 
pulmonary  diseases.  The  elaborate  investigations  of  the 
medical  departments  of  the  New  York  Mutual  Life  in 
1874,^  the  Washington  Life  in  1886,^  the  Prudential  In- 
surance Company  of  America^  in  1895,  and  the  New 
York  Mutual  Life  in  .1895,^  prove  conclusively  that  low 
weight  in  proportion  to  age  and  stature  is  a  determining 
factor  in  the  susceptibility  of  an  individual  to  consump- 
tion. It  is  therefore  of  importance  to  ascertain  whether 
the  colored  man,  subject  to  such  an  inordinate  mortality 
from  pulmonary  and  respiratory  diseases,  is  on  the  aver- 
age of  lesser  weight  in  proportion  to  stature  than  the 

^  "  Mortuary  experience  of  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Co.,"  New 
York,  1S77  ;  Vol.  II.,  page  44,  et  seq. 

''■  "  Experience  of  the  Washington  Life  Insurance  Co.,"  New  Yoik, 
1889,  page  148,  el  seq. 

^  Statistics  of  Consumption,  by  Edward  Haniill,  M.D.,  "Transactions 
of  the  Association  of  Life  Insurance  Medical  Directors,"  18S9-95,  page 
95,  et  seq. 

'"Statistics  of  Consumption,  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Co.,"  New- 
York,  1S95,  page  12,  et  seq. 


150  A7}ierican  Econoviic  Association. 

white.  I  may  anticipate  the  data  which  follow  by  say- 
ing that  he  is  not ;  but  on  the  contrary  he  is  on  the 
average  of  greater  weight  in  proportion  to  age  and 
height  than  the  white. 

The  most  elaborate  collection  of  facts  bearing  on  this 
point  is  in  the  statistics  of  the  Sanitary  Commission'  and 
of  the  Provost-Marshal  General.-  The  former  work 
deals  with  recruits  at  the  time  of  application  for 
enlistment,  while  the  latter  deals  with  the  soldier  in  the 
field.  I  give  below  the  mean  weight  of  white  and  col- 
ored soldiers  according  to  age  and  stature.  The  in- 
stances cited  will  suffice  to  bring  out  the  fact  that  the 
colored  males  almost  without  exception  weigh  more  than 
the  whites.  ' 

MEAN  WEIGHT  OF  WHITE  AND   COLORED   SOLDIERS  ACCORDING    TO 
AGE  AND  STATURE.' 

Age  20.  Age  25. 

Stature.2  White.  Colored.  White.  Colored. 

Inches.  Lbs.  Lbs^  Lbs.  Lbs. 

64.5 1304  138-8  128.8  136  7 

655 133-8  137-9  137-7  142.5 

66.5 138.5  141. 7  142.7  147.1 

67-5 142.8  145.0  146  2  152  5 

68.5  , 147.3  150.9  149-8  156.9 

69-5 147.4  156.0  157.6  152.5 

70.5 154-7  1448  i6[.S  166.4 

Age  30.  Age  35. 

645 135-0  143-5  131  5  143-6 

65-5 136.4  142-6  140.6  137.7 

66.5 1470  142  o  147-0  146.4 

67-5 148.2  150.8  149.3  170.0 

68.5 152-7  153-9  i5'-9  148.1 

69.5  .    .    .  .  1590  160.4  145-4  i6r.S 

70.5 156.5  154-9  157.2 

1  Gould,  "  Military  Statistics,"  pp.  426-433. 

2  For  colored  soldiers  the  mean  statures  are  64.25,  65.25,  66.25,  67.25,  6S.25,  69.25 
and  70.25  inches. 

1 "  luvestigatious  iu  the  Military  ami  Authropological  Statistics  of 
American  Soldiers."  By  Benjamin  Apthorp  Gould,  Actuary  to  the 
Sanitary  Commission.     Cambridge,  1S69. 

-  "  Statistics,  Medical  and  Anthropological,  of  the  Provost-Marshal 
General's  Bureau,"  vol.  2.  By  T.  H.  Baxter,  A.M.,  M.D.,  (Washing- 
ton, 1875). 


I''J  1 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    151 

According  to  this  table  the  colored  males  weigh  more 
at  all  ages  and  for  any  stature  than  the  whites.  The 
very  few  exceptions  are  of  no  importance,  since  the 
variations  from  the  normal  are  due  to  the  smaller  num- 
ber of  observations  for  these  ages.  The  above  result  may 
be  differently  presented  in  a  comparative  table  of  weight 
•and  stature,  in  which  the  element  of  age  is  not  taken 
into  account.  I  give  below  a  theoretical  table  showing 
the  average  weights  of  white  and  colored  soldiers,  their 
stature  varying  from  60  to  72  inches.  The  table,  ab- 
stracted from  the  work  of  ]\Ir.  Gould,  was  calculated  from 
actual  measurements. 

THEORETICAL  WEIGHT  FOR  DIFFERENT  STATURES.^ 

Stature,  Whites,  Blacks, 

Inches.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

60 II3.6  I18.7 

6r II7-4  122.7 

62 121. 3  126.7 

63 125.3  130.8 

64 129.3  135-0 

65  •    • 133  3  139-3 

66 137.5  143-6 

67 141-7  148.0 

68 145-9  152-4 

69 150.3  156.9 

70 154-7  161. 5 

;  71 I59-I  166.2 

1  72 163.6  170.9 

1  Gould,  "  ^iTTilary  Statistics,"  pp.409  and  417. 

This  valuable  table  fully  confirms  the  preceding  one 
and  clearly  establishes  the  fact  that  colored  adult  males 
weigh  more  than  white  males  of  the  same  class.  By 
still  another  method  we  ma}-  compare  the  average 
weights  with  regard  to  circumference  of  the  chest ;  and 
here  again  the  result  is  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  colored 
race. 


152 


Americaji  Economic  Association. 


MEAN  WEIGHT  OF  WHITE  AND  COLORED   SOLDIERS  ACCORDING    TO 
CIRCUMFERENCE  OF  CHEST.» 

Circumference  of  Chest.  White  Soldiers.  Negro  Soldiers, 

luches.  Lbs.  Lbs. 

32 "S.93  129.05 

32.5 123  31  131.02 

33 '26.25  133-76 

33-5 12S.12  135.5S 

34 132.03  15907 

34-5  134-18  143-25 

35 137.93  U6.21 

35-5 140.69  147-S4 

36 143-33  150.6S 

365      147-18  152.71 

37 150.01  154-43 

37.5      152.04  16059 

38 156.27  161.94 

38.5 158.78  166.79 

39 161.24  174.00 

39-5 163.76  166.55 

40 168.30  168.51 

1  Gould,  "  Militarj'  Statistics,"  pp.  454  and  456,  ^^^,„— -  ' 

The  excess  of  weight  for  the  colored  soldier  is  there- 
fore proven,  and  it  remains  to  be  shown  whether  this 
favorable  condition  has  been  persisted  in  to  the  present 
time,    j 

The  data  for  an  investigation  of  the  comjDarative 
weight  in  proportion  to  age,  stature  and  circumference 
of  the  chest,  are  very  limited,  and  one  might  hesitate  to 
make  use  of  the  published  facts  did  they  not  so  fully 
confirm  one  another  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  their  accu- 
racy. For  the  United  States  Army  recent  anthropometric 
statistics  have  been  made  public  for  the  three  years  1893, 
'94  and  '95.  Limited  as  is  the  number  of  observations, 
and  few  as  are  the  points  covered,  they  are  nevertheless 
of  considerable  value. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   153 

AVERAGE  HEIGHT  AND  WEIGHT  OF  ACCEPTED  RECRUITS,  U.  S.  A., 
1892-94.1 

Height,  (inches.)  Weight,  (Ib.s.) 

Year.                                                          White.      Colored.  White.         Colored. 

1892 6742          67.26  14507          148.0S 

1S93 67.47          67.14  144.10          14S.25 

1S94 67.39          67.21  145-65          I49-'9 

1  '^"iTipil"^  fr^m  tn^'Trrmmil  rppnrts  nf  Ihft  S^irg"""  General,  U.  .S.  A./  1S93-4-5. 

The  above  table  shows  that  while  the  average  stature 
of  colored  recruits  was  slightly  less  than  that  of  the 
whites,  the  average  weight  was  invariably  greater.  This 
is  true  for  all  ages  irrespective  of  stature,  as  was  shown 
in  the  tables  of  Mr.  Gould,  I  have  calculated  from  the 
data  before  me  the  proportionate  weight  to  stature  for 
different  groups,  that  is  the  number  of  pounds  to  an  inch 
of  stature.  By  this  method  the  effect  of  the  smaller  stat- 
ure of  the  colored  soldiers  is  eliminated. 

PROPORTION  OF  WEIGHT  TO   HEIGHT   ACCORDING   TO   AGE   GROUPS, 
RECRUITS  IN  U.  S.  ARMY,  1892-94.1 

White.  Colored. 

I                        Age.                                          Lbs.  to  an  inch  Lbs,  to  an  inch 

in  Stature.  in  Stature. 

Under  20        2.03  2.06 

20-24 •2.02  2.17 

25-29 2.17  2.21 

30-34 2.21  2.26 

35-39 2.24  2.33 

40-49 2.27  2.27 

50  and  over 2.26  2.32 

All  ages 2.15  2  21 

1  Compiled  from  the  annual  reports  of  the  Surgeon-General,  U.  S.  A.,  1S93-4-5. 

This  table  reads  that  at  the  age  group  20  to  25,  for 
example,  the  average  weight  of  a  white  soldier  to  every 
inch  of  stature  was  2.12  pounds,  as  compared  with  2.17 
pounds  for  the  colored  soldier.  The  difference  is  small, 
but  it  is  important  to  know  that  the  difference  exists. 
According  to  life  insurance  experience  "  even  a  moderate 
variation  from  the  standard  of  weight  is  of  considerable 


J 


154  American  Economic  Association. 

influence  in  diminishing  or  increasing  the  mortality  from 
consumption."  In  the  experience  of  the  New  York 
Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company,  it  was  pointed  out  that 
nearly  80  per  cent,  of  those  who  died  of  consumption 
were  below  the  standard  weight.  In  the  experience  of 
the  Washington  Life  Insurance  Company  it  was  shown 
that  '  for  light  weight,  coupled  with  a  predisposition  to 
consumption,  the  rate  of  mortality  from  consumption  was 
greatest.'  The  latest  investigation  of  this  point  by  the 
]\Iutual  Life  Company,  of  New  York,  fully  confirms  this 
view.  On  the  strength  of  these  investigations,  fully  es- 
tablishing the  rule  that  "  even  a  slight  excess  of  weight 
is  almost  sufficient  to  annul  a  consumptive  tendency,"  it 
is  remarkable  that  we  should  find  in  the  colored  race  an 
excess  of  weight  coupled  with  an  inordinate  mortality 
from  consumption. 

It  cannot  be  argued  that  army  recruits,  who  differ 
materially  from  the  general  male  population  from  which 
they  are  drawn,  on  account  of  the  element  of  favorable 
selection,  represent  an  exceptional  condition  in  this  re- 
spect ;  for  it  was  ascertained  by  j\Ir.  McCauley  that  of 
the  insurance  applicants  from  the  West  Indies  the  aver- 
age weight  for  the  negro  applicants  was  greater  than 
that  of  the  whites,  and  my  own  data  of  fifty  measure- 
ments of  adult  colored  males  support  the  figures  of  Mr. 
McCauley.^  According  to  the  latter  the  average  weight 
of  the  white  applicants  of  5  ft.,  8  in.  in  height  was  153.2 
pounds,  while  the  negro  applicants  of  the  same  average 
stature  weighed  154  pounds.  The  difference  is  very 
small,  but  as  I  have  pointed  out  before,  it  is  of  value  to 
know  that  there  is  any  difference  at  all.  The  mulatto 
applicants    weighed    less    than    the    whites,    only    149 

^Publications  of  the  American  Statistical  Association,  June,  1891, 
p.  292. 


Race  Traits  a7td  Tetidcnries  of  the  American  Negro.    155 


pounds.  According  to  Gould  the  niulattoes  weighed  on 
the  average  as  much  as,  if  not  more  than,  the  pure 
negroes. 

The  table  below  will  show  the  average  weight 
among  fifty  colored  males,  according  to  girth  of  chest. 
For  purposes  of  comparison  I  add  the  average  weight  of 
white  males.  The  measurements  were  taken  by  a 
physician  of  exceptional  experience  and  may  be  accepted 
as  accurate.  The  numbers  are  sufficiently  large  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  that  under  various  conditions  there 
exists  a  difference  in  weight  between  negroes  and  whites 
having  the  same  physical  proportions. 

COMPARATIVE  WEIGHT  OF  NEGRO  AND  WHITE  ADULT  MALES 
ACCORDING  TO  GIRTH  OF  CHEST.i 


Girth  of  Chest. 
Inches. 

32.5  •  .  . 

33-  •  •  • 

33-5  •  ■  • 

34.  .  .  . 

34-5  ■  •  . 

35-  •  .  • 

35-5  •  •  . 

36.5  ■  .  . 

37-  •  •  • 

38.  .  .  . 

38  5  .  .  . 

39-5  .  -  . 

40.5  •  •  . 

41.  .  .  . 

44-5  •  •  • 

45.  .  .  . 


Colored. 
121 
123 
145 
150 
155 
147 
154 
168 
176 
170 

175 
180 
207 
190 
240 
230 


-Weight,  lbs.- 


White. 
133 
136 
139 
141 

143 
145 
152 
164 
155 
167 
168 
176 
1 88 
201 
230 
226 


Colored  men  examined  all  lived  in 


1  MeaSTTTeTHenlFcolIecfed  by  the  writer. 
New  Jersey. 

This  table  is  not  comparable  with  the  table  of  ]\Ir. 
Gould  in  that  the  individuals  included  were  weighed  in 
ordinary  indoor  clothing  while  the  soldiers  are  weighed 
either  naked  or  under  different  conditions  than  life  in- 
surance applicants.  But  the  result  is  the  same  as  shown 
in  Mr.  Gould's  table. 


156  American  Economic  Association. 

I  have  obtained,  through  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Hamil- 
ton D.  Wey,  of  the  Ehnira  Reformatory,  the  compara- 
tive measnrements  of  i£  white  and  12  colored  jnvenile 
delinquents.  According  to  the  measnrements  fnrnished 
me  the  average  weight  of  the  white  inmates  measured 
was  127.2  lbs.  against  136.6  lbs.  for  the  colored.  The 
average  age  of  the  whites  was  20.4,  while  that  of  the  col- 
ored inmates  was  21.3  years.  The  average  stature  of 
the  whites  was  64.8  inches  in  contrast  to  an  average  of 
65.6  inches  for  the  colored.  This  excess  of  height  for 
the  colored  is  exceptional,  since  as  a  rule  the  colored 
fall  below  the  white  in  the  average  height  according  to 
age  or  weight.' 

I  must  add  to  this  collection  of  facts  bearing  on  stat- 
ure and  weight,  a  table  for  children  compiled  by  the 
superintendent  of  schools  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  who  de- 
serves the  thanks  of  investigators  for  his  interest  in  this 
subject.  The  table  is  for  the  year  1890  and  shows  for 
boys  and  girls  the  average  height,  weight  and  pounds  to 
an  inch  in  stature,  for  the  ages  from  10  to  17^ 


HEIGHT  AND  WEIGHT  OF  KANSAS   CITY  SCHOOL  CHILDREN.— JS90.1 

( 

10  to  17  j'ears  of  age.) 

Relation  of  Weight 

Height. 

Weight. 

to  Stature. 

Girls. 

Girls. 

Lbs.  to  In 

in  Stature. 

White.          Colored 

White.            Colored. 

White. 

Colored. 

Age. 

Inches.          Inches. 

Lbs.                  Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

10  . 

51.7              49.8 

65.9                74.6 

1.27 

1.50 

II  . 

52.7              52.8 

66.2                 79.9 

1.26 

1.84 

12  . 

54  0              54.0 

So.  6             82.8 

1.49 

I  53 

13  • 

57-4             56.9 

91.7                  97.2 

1.60 

1. 71 

14  . 

60.3             58.8 

i<X).o            105. 8 

1.65 

1.77 

15  • 

62.0             61.5 

109.4             no.  I 

1.76 

1-79 

16. 

62.5             62.8 

III. 2            117. 0 

1. 78 

1. 86 

17  • 

62.9             66.0 

117. 1            128.0 

1.86 

1.94 

1  Annual  report  of  the  Superintendent  of  Kansas  City 

schools  for  I 

590-91.    The 

tables  in  full  for  1PS6  and  1S90 

are  reprinted  in  the  bullet 

in  of  the  Tennessee  state 

board 

of  health,  March,  1S92. 

^The  excess  in  stature  may  be  due  to  the  greater  average  age  of  the 
colored  inmates,  -which  exceeds  that  of  the  whites  by  nearly  one  year. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   157 


Relation  of  Weight 

Height. 

Weight. 

to  Stature. 

IJoys. 

Boys. 

Lbs.  to  In 

.  in  Stature. 

White.         Colored. 

White.            Colored. 

White. 

Colored. 

.^ge 

Inches.          Inches. 

I.bs.                  Lbs. 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 

10 

52.0              5I.O 

67.5                 72.7 

1.30 

1-43 

II 

53-0             53-4 

70.9                78.3 

1.34 

1.47 

12 

56.0             53.7 

78.3                 83.0 

1.40 

1-55 

13 

56  6             56.0 

87.5                 89.0 

1.55 

1-59 

14 

58.6             58.9 

93-5              93-6 

1.60 

1-59 

15 

62.4             61.0 

III. 3             112. 0 

1.77 

1.84 

16 

63  9             64.4 

119.0            121. 0 

1. 86 

1.88 

17 

64. S            65.0 

126.6             130.0 

1.94 

2.00 

The  tables  confirm  the  others  that  have  thus  far  been 
introduced  and  show  that  even  for  the  young  genera- 
tion a  distinct  physical  peculiarity  of  the  colored  race 
has  remained  the  same.  We  have  here  for  the  colored 
children,  both  boys  and  girls,  a  smaller  stature  and  greater 
weight  than  for  the  whites.  The  table  is  further  con- 
firmed by  a  similar  investigation  made  by  the  same  teach- 
er in  1886.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  the  future  teachers 
will  follow  this  example,  and  collect  anthropometric 
data  which  will  be  of  value  to  the  student  of  the  subject 
as  well  as  to  themselves. 

The  results  from  these  tables  are  at  variance  with  the 
accepted  rule  that  a  high  mortality  from  consumption 
attends  a  low  average  weight  as  proportioned  to  stature. 
The  negro,  therefore,  in  this  respect  presents  entirely 
different  characteristics  from  the  white  race.  I  am  not 
aware  that  this  exception  to  a  general  rule  has  hereto- 
fore been  discussed.  Yet  the  result  was  not  wholly  con- 
trary to  my  expectations.  It  is  a  fact  already  referred 
to  by  Dr.  Hunt,^  that  the  negro  is  a  hearty  eater ;  that, 
well-fed,  he  is  capable  of  enduring  hardships  of  military 
service  even  better  than  the  white,  but  ill-nourished,  he 
soon  falls  a  victim  to  melancholy  and  despair.     Yet  it  is 

'  "  The  Negro  as  a  Soldier,"  Anthropological  Review,  1869,  p.  43. 

XI 


158  A})ierican  Economic  Association. 

the  quantity  with  him,  not  quality,  and  the  amount  of 
flesh  put  on  may  be  of  less  firmness  and  more  subject  to 
degenerative  processes  than  that  of  the  white  race. 

However,  this  would  not  explain  the  variation  from  the 
rule  of  lesser  susceptibility  to  consumption  as  an  increase 
of  weight  is  met  with.  It  only  proves  that  a  physiolog- 
ical law  may  hold  good  for  one  race  and  not  for  another. 
Thus,  for  instance,  the  Bengalese  are  of  very  low  weight, 
so  much  so  that  the  normal  increase  in  weight  with  ad- 
vancing stature  is  only  t^.},})  pounds  to  the  inch,  in  con- 
trast with  an  average  of  4. 1 7  pounds  for  the  white  soldiers 
and  4.35  pounds  for  the  colored  during  our  civil  war.  Yet 
we  are  informed  by  Surgeon-Captain  W.  J.  Buchanan,  of 
Bhagalpur,  India,  that  "  if  a  man  in  India  reaches  this 
standard,  he  will  be  able  to  perform  the  severest  form  of 
hard  labor."  A  similar  difference  is  met  with  among 
the  Jews  of  East  London,  who  with  the  distinct  physi- 
ological characteristic  of  lighter  weight  than  the  English, 
show  a  much  lower  mortality,  not  only  from  all  causes, 
but  from  consumption  in  particular.  • 

Another  fact  which  is  brought  out  by  these  tables,  is 
that  on  the  whole  the  conditions  of  life  of  the  colored 
people  must  be  fairly  satisfactory  so  long  as  we  meet 
with  proof  of  better  nurture  among  them  than  among 
the  whites.  Thus  among  the  Kansas  City  school  chil- 
dren the  contrast  is  marked,  and  the  excess  of  weight 
clearly  proven.  At  the  same  time  the  condition  of 
life  of  the  colored  population  of  Kansas  City  seem,  on 
the  whole,  to  their  disadvantage  when  measured  by  the 
standard  of  life  of  the  white  race.     But  is   it  an  actual 

*  The  mortality  of  the  Jews  in  comparison  with  other  races  has  been 
fulh'  discussed  by  the  writer  in  the  Spectator,  an  insurance  journal, 
for  November  7  and  14,  1S95.  For  reprint  of  the  principal  tables  see 
Public  Health  for  June,  1S96. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  Anierica^i  Negro.   159 

disadvantage  or  only  an  apparent  one?  The  negro 
mortality  of  Kansas  City  is  far  in  excess  of  that  of  the 
whites ;'  yet  from  the  standpoint  of  the  ratio  of  height 
and  weight  the  school  children,  at  least,  present  a  better 
physical  type  than  do  the  children  of  the  whites. 

The  effect  of  weight  as  a  determining  factor  in  the 
dnration  of  life,  and  especially  as  a  predisposing  cause 
to  consumption,  in  cases  where  the  individual  falls  below 
the  average  standard,  is  of  less  influence  on  the  colored 
race  than  it  is  on  the  white,  and  we  must  seek  for  other 
physiological  traits  in  explanation  of  the  excessive  mor- 
tality of  the  colored  race. 

In  the  second  chapter  of  this  work  I  quoted  from  Dr. 
Hunt :  "A  careful  series  of  weights  of  normal  lungs  to 
contrast  with  weight  of  an  equal  number  of  whites  is  a 
great  desideratum.  It  should  be  reinforced  by  measure- 
ments of  the  volume  and  expansion  of  the  living  thorax."- 
On  the  first  point  I  have  knowledge  of  only  one  series 
of  measurements,  made  by  Dr.  Russel,  who  in  a  report 
to  the  Sanitary  Commission,  states  that  the  ave:rage 
weight  of  the  lung  of  the  negro  is  four  ounces  less  than 
that  of  the  white.^  I  do  not  know  the  number  of  obser- 
vations on  which  this  conclusion  was  founded,  but 
it  is  probable  that  a  sufficient  number  of  cases  were 
investigated  by  Dr.  Russel  before  publishing  his  conclu- 
sion. The  result  confirms  the  view  of  Dr.  Hunt  that  "  the 
negro  has  a  small  or  tropical  lung."  It  remains  for  me 
to  show  how  far  this  view  is  supported  by  measurements 
of  the  living  thorax  and   the  actual    capacity    of   the 

'Approximate  mortality,  1894  :  whites,  11.5  per  1,000;  colored,  20.4 
per  1,000. 

'^Journal,  Anthropological  Society,  vol.  7,  1S69. 

•'  "Sanitary  Memoirs  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,"  page  333  ;  con- 
tributions relating  to  the  causes  and  prevention  of  diseases,  edited  by 
Austin  Flint,  M.D.,  New  York,  1867. 


i6o  A/neri'mn  Economic  Association. 

lungs.  The  data  on  this  important  point  are  fairly  com- 
plete and  of  greater  determining  value  than  those  of 
weight  and  stature.  The  following  three  tables  are  ab- 
stracted from  the  report  of  the  Provost-Marshal  Gen- 
eral, and  show  the  relation  of  girth  of  chest  to  increas- 
ing stature,  weight  and  age.  The  last  two  tables  also 
show  the  chest  mobility,  that  is,  the  difference  be- 
tween forced  inspiration  and  forced  expiration.  The 
results  of  the  first  table  are  based  on  measurements 
of  25,828  colored  soldiers,  while  those  of  the  two  follow- 
ing tables  deal  only  with  yj-j  measurements.  For  the 
white  troops  the  number  of  cases  in  all  tables  is,  of 
course,  much  larger.  

RELATION   OF    GIRTH    OF    CHEST    AT    EXPIRATION   TO   INCREASING 
HEIGHT  IN  MEN,  18  TO  45  YEARS  OF  AGE.» 

Native  White  Troops  Native  Colored  Troops 

(315,620.)  (25,828.) 

Stature.                                                Girth  of  Chest.  Girth  of  Chest. 

Inches.  Inches. 

-Under  61  inches  .    ...                      30.84  31-25 

61-63 31.13  31.68 

63-65 31-98  32-84 

65-67 3292            •  33-65 

67-69 3365  34-34 

69-71 34-23  34-77 

71-73 34-72  35.15 

73  and  over  ...                       35.16  35.56 

Mean 33.42 33-69 

1  Report  of  the  Provost-Marshal  General  of  the  Army,  Vol.  I,  p-as.-"'^  / 

RELATION  OF  HEIGHT,  GIRTH  OF  CHEST  AND  MOBILITY  OF  CHEST 
.TO  INCREASING  WEIGHT  IN  MEN,  iS  TO  45  YEARS  OF  AGE.» 

Native  Whites  (6359).  Colored  '377  men). 

Mobility  Mobility 

Height-        Girth.      of  Chest.  Height.        Girth.        ofChe.st. 

Weight.        Inches.       Inches.      Inches.  Inches.       Inches.        Inches. 

Under  100  lbs..    .64.00  29.71  3.07 

100-120  ..  65.19  30.47  3.15  63.79  30.14  3.33 

120-140  .    .  66.86  31.99  3.24  65.32  32.05  3.21 

140-160  .    .  68.42  33.64  3.29  67.07  33  47  3.22 

160-180.    .69.92  34.99  3.29  69.19  35.11  3.27 

180-        .    .  70.22  36.55  3.27  69.75  35-25  3-38 

Mean .    .    .  67.30  32.49  3.24  66.39  32-84  3-23 

1  Report  of  Provost-Marshal  General,  Vol.  I,  pp.  39-46. 


Race  Traits  and  Teudejtcies  of  the  American  Negro.    i6i 

RELATION  OF  HEIGHT,  GIRTH   OF  CHEST  AND  EXPANSION  OF  CHEST 
TO  INCREASING  AGE  IN  MEN,  i8  TO  45  YEARS  OF  AGE. 


Native  Whites  (6359). 

Colored  (377 

men). 

Height. 
Inches. 

Girth. 
Inches. 

Mobility 
of  Chest. 
Inches. 

Height. 
Inches. 

Girth. 
Inches. 

Mobility 
of  Chest. 
Inches. 

Under  20  years 

.  66.49 

31-32 

326 

65-56 

31.64 

3-17 

20-25  .    . 

.  67. 48 

32.49 

325 

66.23 

32.73 

3-28 

25-30  •    • 

■  67.54 

32.94 

3.22 

66.97 

33-27 

3-25 

30-35  •    • 

■  67.59 

33-14 

3.22 

66.59 

33-29 

3-19 

35-40  .    . 

.  67.80 

33-30 

3-26 

67-55 

33-95 

3-i8 

40-      .    . 

•  67.74 

33-63 

3.18 

65. 84 

33-28 

3-34 

Mean .    . 

.  67.30 

32.49 

3-24 

66.39 

32.84 

3-23 

[  Tt  will  be  observed  that  almost  without  exception  the 
girth  of  chest  (by  which  is  meant  the  chest  at  expira- 
tion) is  greater  for  the  negro  than  for  the  white.  The 
same  fact  is  brought  out  in  the  last  two  tables,  which 
show  the  mobility  of  the  chest  in  addition  to  girth. 
Neither  stature,  weight  nor  age  exert  an  influence  on 
this  condition,  and  the  result  is  almost  without  excep- 
tion in  favor  of  the  colored  soldier.  It  must,  be  taken 
into  consideration  that  the  recruits  here  dealt  with  pre- 
sent probably  a  better  type  than  the  average  colored 
male  of  the  same  period  ;  nevertheless  the  difference  is 
striking.  If  we  compare  this  table  with  the  one  which 
follows  we  shall  find  that  the  recruit  of  the  present  day 
does  not  present  the  same  favorable  characteristics,  but 
to  the  contrary  invariably  falls  below  the  standard  of  the 
white.  The  table  shows  also  for  both  periods,  the  mean 
degree  of  chest  mobility  for  white  and  colored  recruits. 

COMPARATIVE  CHEST  MOBILITY  OF  U.  S.  RECRUITS,  1861-65  AND  1892-94.' 


U.  S.  Army.  1S61-65.                            1 
Age  Periods.    White.    Colored.        Excess  in 

Under  20  .      3.26      3.17   favor  of  white. 

[J.  S.  Army,  1892-94. 
White.    Colored.       Excess  in 

2.82      2.56  favor  of  white. 

20-24  •    -  3-25      3-28      " 

"   col'd. 

2.86 

2.52      " 

25-29  .    .  3  22      3.25      " 
30-34  .    .  3-22      3-19      " 

"  white. 

293 
2.96 

2.62      " 
2.64      " 

35-39  -    -  3-26      3.18      " 
40-49      .3-18      3.34      " 
All  ages    3.24      3.23      " 

"  col'd. 
"  white. 

2.94 
2.84 
2-93 

2-57      " 
2.52      " 
2.58      " 

1  Compiled  from  the  report  of  the  Provost-Marshal  General  (Vol.  I)  and  annual 
reports  of  the  Surgeon  General  U.  S.  A.,  1893-94-95. 


l62 


American  Economic  Association. 


If  the  data  here  presented  may  be  relied  upon,  they 
would  prove  a  lower  vital  power  for  the  negro  of  the 
present  time  than  for  the  negro  of  about  thirty  years  ago. 
The  table  shows  that  at  the  present  time  the  negro  is  ; 
invariably  inferior  in  chest  expansion  to  the  white.    The 
dearth  of  data  on  this  point  make  it  difficult,  however, 
to  prove  whether  there  is  a  decided   tendency  in  this 
direction, — such  a  tendency  we  should  expect  to  find  in  \ 
view  of  the  inordinate  mortality  of  the  race  from  pul-_J 
monary  and  respiratory  diseases. 

It  was  proven  by  Gould  that  the  average  lung  capacity 
of  the  negro  was  considerably  less  than  that  of  the 
white.  The  result  of  his  investigations  are  abbreviated 
in  the  table  below  which  shows  the  average  capacity  of 
the  lungs  for  both  races  according  to  stature  and  cir- 
cumference of  chest.  Both  methods  bring  out  the  same 
result. 

PULMONARY  CAPACITY  ACCORDING   TO  -STATURE.' 


Stature.  White. 

I      Inches.  Cubic  Inches. 

I     60 138.5 

j     61 145.0 

i     62 151.O 

63 157-5 

64 163.5 

65 170.0 

66      ....  176.0 

67 182.5 

68 188.5 

69 194-5 

70 200.5 

71 206.5 

72 212.0 

1  Gould,  "  Militarj- Statistics,"  p.  4S0, 


Negro. 
Cubic  Inches. 

Mean  Difference 

in  Favor 

of  Whites. 

Cubic  Inches. 

130-5 

8.0 

136.0 

9.0 

141. 0 

10.0 

146.0 

II  5 

151-5 

12.0 

156.5 

135 

162.0 

14.0 

167.5 

15.0 

173-5 

15-0 

179.0 

15-5 

185.0 

155 

191.0 

15-5 

197-5 

14-5 

— ■ 

Race  Traits  and  Tetidendes  of  the  American  Negro.    163 

PULMONARY  CAPACITY  ACCORDING  TO  CIRCUMFERENCE   OF  CHEST.' 

Girth  of  Chest,  White.  Colored.  Mean 

Inches.  Cubic  Inches,  Cubic  Inches.  Difference. 

30 '149-5  1240  25.5 

31 156.5  132.5  24.0 

32 163.0  141.0  22.0 

?>:!) 169.5  148.5  21.0 

34 ■  175-5  156.0  19.5 

35 181. o  T65.0  18.0 

36 186.5  170.5  16.0 

37 192.0  178.0  14.0 

38 1965  185.5  ii.o 

39 200.5  194.0  6.5 

40 204.0  202.0  2.0 

^1  Gould,  "  Military  Statistics,"  p,  493.  / 

The  contrast  is  very  marked  and  suggests  the  question 
why  there  should  be  a  smaller  lung  capacity  in  view  of 
the  slight  difference  in  chest  expansion.  The  rule  was 
laid  down  by  Dr.  Hutchinson  that  "  the  size  of  the  chest 
and  the  quantity  of  air  a  man  can  breathe  have  no  direct 
relation  to  each  other.  The  circumference  of  the  chest 
has  also  no  relation  to  vital  capacity ;  but  it  has  to 
weight,  increasing  an  inch  for  every  ten  pounds."^  We 
must,  therefore,  consider  both  series  of  measurements  in- 
dependent of  each  other ;  but  the  greatest  value  must  be 
attached  to  the  comparative  degree  of  vital  capacity,  for, 
as  has  been  pointed  out  by  the  same  writer,  "  by  disease 
the  vital  capacity  decreases  by  from  lo  to  70  per  cent." 
The  only  data  which  I  have  been  able  to  obtain  with 
respect  to  the  negro  of  the  present  day  are  those  of 
twelve  inmates  of  the  Ehnira  Reformatory,  furnished  me 
by  Dr.  Hamilton  Wey.  According  to  this  authority,  the 
average  vital  capacity  of  the  colored  inmates  was  180  cu- 
bic inches,  in  contrast  with  196  cubic  inches  for  the  white 
inmates.  In  respect  to  weight,  circumference  of  waist 
and  strength  of  chest,   the  negro  was  superior  to  the 

'  Medico  Cliinigical  Transactions,  xxix,  p.  248. 


164  Amen'ca?i  Economic  Associatio7i. 

white,  but  in  respect  to  vital  capacity  he  proved  himself 
decidedly  the  inferior  to  the  white  inmate. 

In  consequence  of  this  inferiority  the  following  re- 
mark of  Dr.  Wey  is  justified  :  "  It  has  been  noted  here 
[the  New  York  Refonnatory]  as  in  other  institutions, 
that  color  exercises  an  influence  in  disease  resistance. 
Thus,  other  things  being  equal,  the  white  opposes  the 
greatest  resistance  ;  next  comes  the  full  blooded  negro, 
or  the  best  type  of  the  blooded  negro  found  in  this 
locality ;  while  the  mulatto  is  most  susceptible,  as  if  the 
inferior  elements  of  two  colors  combined  in  him  pro- 
duced a  strain  ill-calculated  to  resist  disease."  '  Accord- 
ing to  Gould  the  average  lung  capacity  of  white  soldiers 
was  184.7  cubic  inches,  of  blacks  163.5,  and  of  mulattos 
158.9.^  The  mean  circumference  of  the  chest  was  35.8 
inches  for  whites,  35.1  for  blacks,  and  34.97  for  the 
mixed  races.  ^ 

The  inferior  vitality  of  the  mixed  race  is,  therefore, 
sufficiently  proven  by  both  methods.  On  the  hypothesis 
that  lung  capacity  differs  in  man  according  to  age, 
height,  weight  and  disease,  the  smaller  lung  capacity  of 
the  colored  race  is  in  itself  proof  of  an  inferior  physical 
organism,  and  this  assertion  is  proved  by  the  greater  mor- 
tality of  the  race  as  compared  with  the  white.  The  effect 
of  disease  on  lung  capacity  is  clearly  brought  out  in  the 
table  below,  which  shows  for  white,  black  and  mulatto 
soldiers  the  lung  capacity  in  usual  vigor,  and  with  vigor 
impaired.  The  table  is  very  interesting  and  supports 
those  previously  introduced,  as  well  as  the  rule  of  Hutch- 
inson that  there  is  a  direct  relation  between  lung  capacity 
and  disease. 

1  Eighteenth  Year  Book,  New  York  Reformatory,  p.  17S. 
=  Gould,  "Military  Statistics,"  p.  471. 
^  Ibid,  p.  316. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    165 

AVERAGE  LUNG  CAPACITY  OF  WHITE  AND  COI^ORED  SOI^DIERS.' 

1861-1865. 


Color  ^"  Usual  Vigor.  With  Vigor  Impaired. 

(Cubic  Inches).  (Cubic  Inches). 

White  soldiers 187.9  166.3 

Full  blacks 165.3  149.7 

Mulattoes 161.6  145.4 


Gould,  "  Military  Statistics,"  p,  471. 


Closely  related  to  lung  capacity  and  girth  of  chest  is 
the  respiratory  movement  of  the  chest.  On  this  point  the 
only  information  I  know  of  is  in  the  statistics  collected 
by  Gonld.  They  are  admitted  to  be  of  less  value  than 
those  pertaining  to  other  bodily  measurements,  but  on 
the  whole  they  may  be  accepted  as  representing  fairly  the 
functional  differences  of  the  two  races  in  this  respect. 
The  tables  which  follow  give  the  number  of  respirations 
per  minute  for  whites,  blacks  and  mulattoes,  between 
the  ages  17  and  35,  in  usual  vigor  and  with  vigor  im- 

MEAN  FREQUENCY  OF  RESPIRATION  ACCORDING  TO  AGE.> 


Ages.  Whites. 

Under  17 16.40 

17 16.55 

'8 16.39 

19 16.36 

20 16.41 

21 16.53 

22 16.45 

23 16.47 

24 16.50 

25  •••...    .  16.46 

26 16.36 

27 16.33 

28 16.3S 

29 16.51 

30 16.41 

31-34 16.37 

35  and  over  .....  16.50 

Mean  ....  16.44  17-75  i9-Oi 


Usual  Vigor. 

Blacks. 

Mulatto 

18.45 

1832 

18.05 

17-73 

18.43 

18.20 

19-37 

19-50 

18.74 

1955 

18.15 

18.74 

17.59 

18.55 

17.46 

18.57 

16.96 

20.06 

17-54 

19.91 

16.69 

1947 

16.87 

18.42 

17-36 

19.29 

16.74 

18.26 

17.03 

18.85 

17.09 

19.10 

18.04 

1882 

'Gould,  "Military  Statistics,"  pp.  521-22. 


1 66  American  Economic  Association. 

MEAN  FREQUENCY  OF  RESPIRATION  ACCORDING  TO  AGE'  ' 

With  Vigor  Impaired. 

White.  Black,  and  Mulatto. 

Under  17 17.32  20.50 

17 16.95  20.50 

18 16.76  19.62 

J9 1655  18.54 

20 16  63  19.82 

21 16.76  22.59 

22 16.60  22.78 

23 16.89  21.21 

24 16.69  20.91 

25        16.92  22.65 

26 16.34  19-70 

27 17-07  22.54 

28 16.40  21.00 

29 16  91  21.21         j 

30 17.16  22.60         \ 

31-34    16.70  20.21     ; 

35  and  over 17.16  18.97 

Mean 16. 84  20.71 

'Gould,  "Military  Statistics,"  p.  522. 

paired.  The  distinction  as  to  vigor  is  necessars-  to  meet 
the  point  raised  in  the  discussion  of  vital  capacity  as  to 
the  effect  of  disease.  For  those  with  impaired  vigor  the 
data  for  pure  and  mixed  races  have  not  been  separated 
by  ]\Ir.  Gould  on  account   of  the  small  number  of  cases, 

(294). 

Under  conditions  of  health  and  disease  the  number  of 
respirations  is  least  for  the  white  and  greatest  for  the 
mulattoes.  The  number  of  respirations  increases  during 
disease.  According  to  the  tables  before  us,  the  average 
number  per  minute  was  16.44  ^^^^  the  whites  in  usual 
vigor,  and  16.84  with  vigor  impaired.  For  the  blacks 
the  rate  was  17.75  in  usual  vigor  and  for  the  mulattoes 
19.01.  For  the  two  races  combined  the  rate  was  20,71 
for  those  with  vigor  impaired.  The  differences  in  favor 
of  the  whites  exist  at  all  ages  and  are  fairly  constant. 
Since  the  accelerated  respiration  falls  almost  entirely  on 


Race  Traits  and  Tcndc7icics  of  the  American  Negro.    167 

the  colored  race  it  is  self-evident  from  these  figures  and 
those  pertaining  to  lung  capacity  that  on  the  whole  the 
colored  race,  even  at  the  time  of  a  favorable  rate  of  mor- 
tality, presented  characteristics  which  in  part  explain 
the  inordinate  mortality  peculiar  to  the  race  at  the  pres- 
ent time.' 

Inferior  vital  capacity  is  closely  associated  with  slight 
physical  strength.  The  data  collected  by  Mr.  Gould 
proves  this  to  be  true,  and  as  the  table  below  will  show, 
the  mean  lifting  strength  is  less  at  nearly  all  ages  for 
the  colored  soldiers  as  compared  with  the  whites.  This 
is  contrary  to  the  prevailing  notion  that  the  average 
negro  possesses  superior  physical  strength,  but  in  full 
accordance  with  the  lower  power  of  vital  resistance  and 
consequent  susceptibility  to  disease. 

I  know  of  no  comparative  data  for  the  colored  male  of 
the  present  day,  with  the  exception  of  the  twelve  meas- 
urements of  colored  boys  in  the  Elmira  Reformatory  al- 
ready referred  to.  The  results  of  Dr.  Wey's  measure- 
ments confirm  this  point  and  show  that  while  the  aver- 
age strength  of  the  back  and  legs  are  274.8  lbs.  and  369.8 
lbs.  respectively  for  the  white  inmates,  the  averages  for 
the  colored  were  only  270.4  lbs.  and  349.4  lbs.  respec- 
tively. The  dearth  of  data  makes  a  more  accurate  com- 
parison impossible. 

'  The  same  unfavorable  condition  is  to  be  observed  in  the  rate  of  the 
pulse,  which  increases  during  disease  even  in  its  incipient  sta,;.',e.  In 
the  comparison  below,  the  full  blacks  show  the  most  favorable  rate 
while  tile  least  favorable  rate  is  shown  by  the  mulatto  both  in  health 
and  disease. 
^  MEAN  FREQUENCY  OF  PULSE.' 

/  Usual  Vigor.  Vigor  Impaired. 

Whites 74-84  77-21 

Full  blacks 74-02  76.91 

Mulattoes 76-97  S3.12 


'Gould,  "Military  statistics,' 


[68  Amcricayi  Econoviic  Association. 


MEAN  LIFTING  STRENGTH  OF  WHITE  AND  COLORED  SOLDIERS.* 

Age.  White.  Colored. 

Lbs.  Lbs. 

Under  17 250.4  258.9 

17 292.8  295.0 

18 312.6  2S5.8 

19 320.7  297- 1- 

20 331.2  316.2 

21 337-4  327.4 

22 343-3  3296 

23 35S  4  334S 

24 355S  347-2 

25 365-1  349-5 

26 363.0  33S.9 

27 350.1  343.2 

28 367-6  354- 1 

29 3659  356.9 

30 351-2  349-8 

31-34 361-9  366.S 

35-39 366.0  339.2 

40-44 347-0            ^        336.6 

45-49 325-7            *        328.7 

50  and  over.    .    .  321.2  297.0 

1  Gould,  "Militarj'  Statistics,"  pp.  461  and  465. 

There  is  one  more  subject  concerning  which  the  sta- 
tistics I  have  collected  may  be  of  value,  and  that  is, 
vision.  I  regret  that  the  limited  range  of  data  on  this 
important  point  makes  a  full  discussion  difficult,  if  not 
impo.ssible ;  but  the  subject  is  one  which  is  well  deserv- 
ing of  being  more  fully  investigated.  The  work  of 
Gould  contains  considerable  information  which,  however, 
deals  more  fully  with  the  eyesight  of  the  white  soldier 
than  of  the  colored.  The  actual  power  of  vision  was 
greatest  for  the  Indian  and  least  for  the  full  black.  The 
mean  distance  at  which  a  test  object  could  be  read  was 
47.3  inches  for  the  white,  45.5  for  the  full  black,  46.6 
for  the  mulatto  and  51.8  for  the  Indian.^     But  the  small 

1  Gould,   "Military  Statistics,"  page  530. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  Americaii  Negro.    169 

number  of  observations  (253)  on  mulattoes  impairs  the 
value  of  the  figures  for  this  class.  The  superiority  of 
the  vision  of  the  white  over  that  of  the  negro  is,  how- 
ever, clearly  shown. 

If  we  consider  the  comparative  prevalence  of  color 
blindness  we  meet  with  an  entirely  different  result,  as 
2.2  per  cent,  of  the  white  soldiers  were  color  blind,  and 
only  I.I  per  cent,  of  blacks  and  0.3  per  cent,  of  the 
mulattoes.'  There  is  therefore  apparently  no  distinct 
relation  between  power  of  vision  and  color  blindness. 

We  are  fortunate  in  having  some  valuable  and  reliable 
data  on  this  point  for  the  present  time  for  the  state  of 
Alabama,  from  the  official  reports  of  which  I  have  com- 
piled the  following  table  showing  the  comparative  fre- 
quency of  cases  of  color  blindness  and  defective  vision  in 
four  years. 

AVERAGE  NUMBER  OF  REJECTIONS  FOR  DEFECTIVE  VISION  BY  THE 
STATE  BOARD  OF  EXAMINERS  FOR  ALABAMA,   1888-1891.1 


Per  Cent,  of 
Color.  No.  Examined.        No.  of  Rejections.       Rejections. 

While 7,403  285  3.9 

Black    ...        .  1.253  24  1.9 

Mulatto   ....  265  5  1.9 

^  Annual  reports  of  the  Alabama  .State  Board  of  Health,  188S-1S91. 

V^  This  table  presents  the  results  of  examinations  made 
during  1888-91  of  persons  employed  or  desiring  to  be 
employed  in  the  railway  service.  The  class  rejected  or 
disqualified  includes  those  with  visual  defects  of  all 
kinds  and  therefore  the  results  are  not  strictly  compar- 
able with  those  of  Mr.  Gould's  investigation,  which  deals 
with  color  blindness  only.  But  the  result  is  largely  in 
favor  of  the  colored,  and  to  an  equal  degree  for  mulattoes 
and  full  blacks.  A  similar  result  is  brought  out  by  the 
following  table  abstracted  from   the  reports  of  the  Sur- 

'  "  Militarj'  Statistics,"  p.  554. 


170  American  Eco7iomic  Association. 

geon-General  of  the  army  and  showing  the  rejections  for 
diseases  of  the  eye  during  a  period  of  eight  years. 

REJECTIONS  rOR  DISEASES  OF  THE  EYES  FOR  i,cx30  MEN  EXAMINED,  \ 
1887-1894.1  j 

Year.  White.  Colored. 

18S7 74.2  50.9  \ 

1888 90.0  76.7 

1S89 89.1  77.5 

1890 89.1  55.1 

1891 86.7  40.8 

1S92 S8.3  64  5 

1^93 82. o  51.2 

i?^94 Sd^T 30^7 

1  Annual  reports  of  the  Surgeon-General  of  the  Array,  1S88-1895.  ___^y 

Without  exception  the  rejections  for  diseases  of  the 
eye  are  most  frequent  among  the  whites,  and  there  does 
not  seem  to  be  any  tendency  towards  a  change  in  this 
favorable  condition  for  the  colored  race. 


The  conclusions  deducible  from  the  preceding  tables 
of  anthropometric  statistics  may  be  summarized  as 
follows  : 

First.  The  average  weight  of  the  colored  male  of 
military  age,  and  of  colored  male  and  female  children,  is 
greater  than  that  of  whites  of  the  same  classes.  This 
excess  in  weight  prevails  irrespective  of  age,  stature,  or 
circumference  of  the  chest.x' 

Second.  The  average  stature  of  the  negro  is  less  than 
that  of  the  white,  and  the  difference,  though  slight,  pre- 
vails at  all  ages. 

Third.  The  greater  weight  and  smaller  stature  of  the 
negro  as  compared  with  the  white  are  found  to  prevail 
practically  the  same  today  as  thirty  years  ago.  The 
race  has  therefore  undergone  no  decided  change  in  re- 
spect to  these  conditions  of  bodily  structure. 
<.  Fourth.  The  average  girth  of  chest  of  the  negro  male 


Race  Traits  atid  Tendencies  of  the  Anierica^i  Negro.    171 

of  thirty  years  ago  was  slightly  greater  than  that  of  the 
white,  but  at  the  present  time  the  chest  expansion  of 
the  colored  male  is  less  than  that  of  the  white.  This  de- 
crease in  the  size  of  the  living  thorax  in  part  explains 
the  increase  in  the  mortality  from  consumption  and  res- 
piratory diseases. 

Fifth.  The  capacity  of  the  lungs  of  the  negro  is  con- 
siderably below  that  of  the  white.  This  fact  coupled 
with  the  smaller  weight  of  the  lungs  (4  oz.)  is  without 
question  another  powerful  factor  in  the  great  mortality 
from  diseases  of  the  lungs.  ^ 

Sixth.  The  mean  frequency  of  respiration  is  greater 
in  the  negro  than  in  the  white.  As  accelerated  respira- 
tion indicates  a  tendency  towards  disease,  the  fact  just 
stated  fully  supports  those  regarding  inferior  vital  capac- 
ity and  lesser  degree  of  mobility  of  the  chest. 

Seventh.  The  mean  lifting  strength  of  the  white  is  in 
excess  of  that  of  the  negro.  The  prevailing  opinion 
that  the  negro  is  on  the  whole  more  capable  of  enduring 
physical  exercise  is  therefore  disproved.  This  fully 
agrees  with  the  facts  regarding  excessive  mortality, 
which  in  itself  is  proof  of  a  lesser  degree  of  physical 
strength. 

Eighth.  The  power  of  vision  of  the  negro  is  inferior 
to  that  of  the  white,  but  he  is  less  liable  to  diseases  of 
the  eye,  especially  color  blindness. 

The  facts  brought  together  in  the  preceding  section 
prove  conclusively  that  there  are  important  differences 
in  the  bodily  structure  of  the  two  races,  differences  of 
far-reaching  influence  on  the  duration  of  life  and  the 
social  and  economic  efficiency  of  the  colored  man. 
Superficial  writers,'  either  ignorant  of  or  indifferent  to 

'Davy  "On  the  Character  of  the  Negro."  Journal,  Anthropological 
Society,  vol.  vii,  p.  clvi  et  seq. 


172  American  Econotnic  Association. 

the  facts,  have  maintained  that  snch  differences  were 
only  trivial  and  of  no  importance.  All  the  researches  of 
and  investigations  from  Soemmering'  to  Gonld  have 
clearly  proven  that  the  differences  are  vital.  Sir  Dnncan 
Gibb,  in  his  remarks  on  the  paper  of  Dr.  Beddoe,^  well  said 
that  "  the  vital  energies  of  a  people  had  a  great  deal  to 
do  with  the  state  of  the  body,  and  that  the  capacity  of 
the  chest  should  count  for  something  very  considerable 
as  an  indication  of  national  power.  He  thought  that 
the  British  people  as  a  race  were  superior  to  most  other 
people  in  consequence  of  the  vigour  they  possessed  in 
that  respect." '' 

The  apparent  decrease  in  the  vitality  of  the  negro  is 
in  marked  contrast  to  the  favorable  change  in  th.e  white 
population.  Taking  account  only  of  students  we  have 
it  on  the  authority  of  Professor  Hitchcock  that  "  The 
physique  of  the  Amherst  student  is  altered  very 
considerably  from  what  it  was  in  the  sixties.  The 
young  man  now  in  college  has  at  his  entrance 
less  of  the  simple,  flabby,  weak  appearance  than  had 
the  young  collegian  of  186 1.  .  .  .  There  are 
two  facts  in  our  statistical  history  which  illustrate 
this  point.  One  is  the  test  of  actual  strength.  Almost 
from  the  first  beginnings  of  our  department  we  have 
possessed  and  used  the  two  well  known  tests  known  as 
the  '  dip '  and  the  '  pull  up '.  .  .  .  The  records  of 
tests  with  these  instruments  applied  to  all  the  colleges, 
were  averaged  for  the  period  1861  to  1888,  with  the  re- 
sult that  the  '  dip  '  stood  at  6,  and  the  '  pull  up '  at  9. 
For  the  sake  of  comparison  we  have  averaged  the  same 

'  S.  T.  SotnTiiering,  "  Ueber  die  korperlichen  Verschiedenheiteu 
der  Neger  von  Europaern,"  Frankfurt  a.  M.,  1785. 

2  "  The  Stature  and  Bulk  of  Men  in  the  British  Islands." 
^Journal  of  the  Anthropological  Society,  Vol.  7,  p.  ccxxi. 


lace  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   173 

ite: lis  for  the  past  five  college  years  and  find  the  'dip' 
to  be  7.1  and  the  'pull  up'  9.9,  that  is,  we  register  a 
gain  of  9  and  8  per  cent,  respectively.  Another  test  is 
found  in  our  record  of  time  lost  on  account  of  sickness. 
Statistics  taken  from  1861-65  showed  that  each  student 
during  that  period  averaged  a  loss  of  2.18  days  annually 
during  term  time  from  being  too  sick  to  study.  The 
records  for  1885-89  show  an  average  loss  of  1.75  days,  a 
gain  in  health  of  8  per  cent.  The  deaths  during  1861- 
70,  exclusive  of  those  who  fell  in  the  v/ar  were  6.  i  per 
cent,  of  the  whole  number  graduated  ;  the  deaths  during 
1881-90  were  3.4  per  cent,  of  this  number.  This  cer- 
tainly indicates  a  greater  vitality  now  than  twenty-five 
years  ago."^ 

In  contrast  with  this  favorable  change  of  physical 
condition  for  the  white  race,  we  have  abundant  proof  of 
the  physical  deterioration  of  the  colored  race.  Before 
emancipation  he  presented  in  many  respects  a  most  ex- 
cellent physical  type,  a  type  even  superior  to  the  aver- 
age white  man  examined  for  military  service  under 
similar  conditions.  The  opinions  as  to  his  fitness  for 
military  service  were  so  very  emphatic,  and  so  largely 
in  his  favor,  that  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  a  few  of 
the  many  recorded  views  of  the  examining  surgeons, 
who  had  excellent  opportunities  for  observation.  The 
Kentucky  negro  of  thirty  years  ago  was  described  by  Dr. 
James  Foster,  of  London,  Ky.,  as  follows  : 

For  symmetry,  muscular  strength  and  endurance,  I  do  not  think 
the  Kentucky  negro  can  be  surpassed  by  any  people  on  earth.  The 
stoutest  and  most  muscular  men  I  ever  examined  were  the  negroes 

I  examined  at  this  office I  think  the  negro,  if  he  was 

better   informed,    and   as   a   consequence,  possessed   of  more   moral 
courage,  would  be  more  enduring  as  he  is  certainly  more  muscular 

'  Annual  report  of  the  Professor  of  Hygiene  and  Physical  Education 
of  Amherst  College,  1891. 


174  American  Economic  Associatio7i. 

thau  the  white  man.     He  is,  in  addition  generally  better  devel  ipel  in 
the  chest  than  the  white  man.' 

Dr.  John  C.  Maxwell,  of  Lebanon,  Ky.,  wrote  a.s  fol- 
lows : 

I  think  I  may  state  without  fear  of  contradiction,  that  the  colored 
man  in  this  locality,  if  bone  and  sinew,  chest  measurement  and  gen- 
eral physique  are  the  criteria,  presents  the  greatest  physical  aptitude 
for  military  service.  - 

In  the  eastern  states  the  opinion  of  the  examining 
surgeon  was  equally  favorable.  Dr.  John  Streeter,  of 
Boston  makes  the  following  report : 

I  have  not  examined  a  very  large  number  of  colored  men,  not 
exceeding  300,  consequently  I  cannot  speak  from  large  experience. 
Those  that  I  have  examined  compare  favorably  in  intelligence  and 
aptitude  for  military  service  with  white  recruits.  In  muscular  de- 
velopment and  freedom  from  physical  disqualifications  they  are 
superior  to  the  average  white  men  I  have  examined.  The  finest 
specimens  of  physical  development  I  have  seen  were  among  the 
colored  recruits.  I  am  not  aware  why  the  colored  race  should  not 
furnish  as  efficient  soldiers  as  ever  were  in  service.^ 

Dr.  R.  G.  McLord,  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  wrote  as  fol- 
lows : 

The  negro  possesses  in  general  a  sound  and  vigorous  body,  with  a 
powerful  development  of  the  thorax  and  superior  extremities,  and 
is  in  ever}'  way  physically  adapted  for  garrison  dut}',  assailing  earth 
works,  as  well  as  for  short  marches.  ' 

The  opinion  of  Dr.  Stevenson,  of  Camden,  N.  J.,  was 
given  as  follows  : 

The  negro  race  physically  are  well  developed,  muscular  and 
strong.  .  .  With  the  exception  of  a  greater  tendency  to  scrofulous 
disorders,  they  are  quite  as  free  from  disease  as  the  whites.  The 
negro  then  would  seem  to  be  well  adapted  to  endure  the  fatigues  of  a 
long  march  and  in  those  duties  where  manual  labor  is  required,  ought 
to  be  superior  to  the  white  man.^ 

Finally  I  may  quote  the  opinion  of  Dr.  H.  B.  Hub- 

^  Provost-Marshal  General's  report,  vol.  I,  p.  3S4. 
^  Ibid,  p.  370. 
^  Ibid,  p.  201. 
*  Ibid,  p.  237. 
^Ibid,  p.  285. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  Americaii  Negro.    175 

bard,  exaiiiiuing  surgeon  of  the  2nd  Mass.  district,  who 
observed  the  negro  in  British  Guiana : 

An  experience  of  some  months'  practice  among  this  class  some 
years  since  in  Denierara,  enables  me  to  give  a  decided  opinion  that 
the  negro  is  generally  of  good  physique  .  .  .  and  fully  as  able, 
(as  the  white)  to  support  fatigue  and  endure  hardship.  I  think  the 
negro  lias  ever}'  physical  qualification  for  military  service.  I  refer  to 
the  pure  or  nearly  pure,  bl.ick  ;  for  although  I  have  known  some 
muscular  and  healthy  niulattoes  I  am  convinced  that,  as  a  general 
rule,  any  considerable  admixture  of  white  blood  deteriorates  their 
physique,  impairs  the  powers  of  endurance  and  almost  always  intro- 
duces a  scrofulous  taint.' 

This  testimony  as  to  the  sound  physical  condition  of 
the  negro  previous  to  emancipation,  M^as  ahnost  unani- 
mous. Those  who  disagreed  with  the  favorable  opin- 
ions in  regard  to  the  negro's  fitness  for  military  service 
found  fault  largely  with  the  lack  of  muscular  develop- 
ment of  the  calf  of  the  leg,  and  the  extreme  flat-foot- 
edness,  and,  among  those  of  mixed  blood  especially, 
tendency  to  scrofula.  In  regard  to  the  first  two 
objections  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Sanford  Hunt  may  be 
quoted,  according  to  whom  "  the  large  flat  inelastic  foot 
of  the  negro  was  at  first  considered  an  objection,,  but 
consequent  experience  has  not  sustained  the  idea..  I 
have  known  a  command  of  about  1,500  negroes  to  marcli 
78  miles  in  76  hours  with  remarkable  ease  and  without 
increasing  the  sick  list  except  for  blistered  feet.  The 
general  experience  of  army  officers  has  decided  that  the 
negro  marches  as  well  as  the  majority  of  the  troops."^ 

Hence  we  have  an  almost  perfect  agreement  of  widely 
separated  authorities  and  investigators,  that  the  negro 
of  thirty  years  ago  was  physically  the  equal  if  not  the 
superior  of  the  white,  and  this  view  has  been  fully  sus- 
tained by  the  statistics  of  mortality,  which  also  ranked 

^Provost-Marshal  General's  report.  Vol.  I,  p.  199. 

^  "The  Negro  as  a  Soldier";  Anthropological  Review,  Vol  VII,  p.  43. 


176  American  Economic  Association. 

him  the  equal  if  not  the  superior  of  the  white  of  thirty 
years  ago.  While  it  is  not  possible  to  demonstrate  as 
clearly  as  is  desirable  the  present  physical  condition  of 
the  colored  race,  enough  facts  have  been  introduced  to 
show  that  a  process  of  deterioration  has  been  going  on 
in  this  respect,  which  is  revealed  by  the  inordinate  mor- 
tality of  the  race  from  consumption  and  respiratory 
diseases.  And  the  opinion  is  warranted  that  if  facts 
were  collected  in  the  same  comprehensive  and  scientific 
manner  as  was  done  by  Mr.  Gould  and  Dr.  Baxter,  they 
would  prove  that  in  vital  capacity,  the  most  important 
of  all  physiological  characteristics,  the  tendency  of  the 
race  has  been  downward.  This  tendency  if  unchecked 
must  in  the  end,  lead  to  a  still  greater  mortality,  a  lesser 
degree  of  economic  and  social  efficiency,  a  lower 
standard  of  nurture  and  a  diminishing  excess  of  births 
over  deaths.  A  combination  of  these  traits  and  ten- 
dencies must  in  the  end  cause  the  extinction  of  the  race. 


Chapter  IV. 

RACE    AMALGAMATION. 

In  this  work,  the  terms  "colored"  and  "negro"  have 
been  used  indiscriminately,  but  I  have  made  the  more 
extended  use  of  the  former,  since  the  type  of  the  pure 
negro  is  rarely  met  with.  The  race  is  so  hopelessly 
mixed  that  it  is  difficult  to  arrive  at  a  clear  definition, 
and  the  term  "  colored  "  will  probably  serve  as  well  as 
the  awkward  phrase,  "  persons  of  x^frican  descent." 

Of  the  original  African  type  few  traces  remain,  and 
the  race  is  largely  a  cross  between  the  African  and  the 
white  male ;  for  no  considerable  crossing  of  negroes 
with  white  females  has  ever  taken  place.  The  instances 
where  white  women  have  married  colored  men  are  very 
rare  and  the  few  cases  that  occur  cannot  possibly  have 
affected  the  traits  and  tendencies  of  the  race.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  infusion  of  white  blood,  through 
white  males,  has  been  widespread,  and  the  original 
type  of  the  African  has  almost  completely  disappeared. 
A  small  settlement  near  Mobile,  Ala.,  a  few  years  ago 
was  asserted  to  have  preserved  the  purity  of  the  race  : 
but  I  am  informed  by  Dr.  D.  T.  Rogers,  the  health  officer 
of  Mobile,  that  this  is  no  longer  true.^     It  is  therefore  a 

'  This  settlement  consisted  originally  of  thirty  full  blooded  Daho- 
meyans,  brought  over  in  the  "  Clothilde"  in  1859,  the  last  cargo  of 
slaves  brought  to  this  country.  They  were  exceedingly  fine  speci- 
mens of  the  nati%'e  African  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  became 
an  industrious,  peaceble  community.  For  a  considerable  period  no 
intercourse  with  the  native  colored  population  took  place,  but  of 
late  years  they  have  mixed  and  intermarried  with  the  latter. 
The  result  of  this  inter-marriage  is  given  fully  in  the  following 
extracts  from  a  letter  of  Dr.  Rogers,  written  from  Mobile,  Ala., 
Dec.  18,  1895,  who  kindly  investigated  the  matter  for  me. 
'•  The  settlement  is  located  about  three  miles  from  Mobile.     Some 


lyS  American  Economic  Association. 

question  of  great  importance  to  know  what  influence, 
favorable  or  otherwise,  the  infusion  of  white  blood  has 
had  on  the  physical,  moral  and  mental^aracteristics_of 
the  race.  It  is  of  further  importance  to  ascertain,  if 
possible,  whether  there  is  a  decided  tendency  towards  a 
mixture  of  the  two  races,  and  if  so,  whether  this  tend- 
ency is  in  the  direction  of  lawful  marriage  or  of  concu- 
binage and  prostitution. 

It  is  an  open  question  whether  crossing  leads  to  the 
improvement  or  deterioration  of  races.  There  is  no  agree- 
ment amongst  high  authorities.  Gobineau  maintains 
that  intermixture  of  different  races  leads  to  final  extinc- 
tion of  civilization.  Serres  and  others  maintain  that 
crossing  of  races  is  the  essential  lever  of  all  progress.' 
Topinard  holds  that  crossing  of  races  anthropologically 
remote  does  not  increase  fecundity  ;  while  M.  :Quatre- 
fages  holds  the  contrary  opinion.  Nott,  Knox  and  Per- 
rier  hold  that  intermixture  of  races  would  lead  to  decay, 
while  M.  Bodichon  declares  that  the  era  of  universal 
peace  and  fraternity  will  be  realized  by  crossing.  The 
latter  opinion  is  shared  by  Waitz,  Deschamps,  and  many 
others. 

But  it  would  seem  that  the  majority  of  the  writers 
draw   their  conclusions   from   insufficient  evidence  and 

years  ago  they  all  lived  together  on  tlieir  own  land,  which  was  given 
to  them,  but  in  the  course  of  time,  as  they  have  married,  they  have 
moved  away  from  the  old  place  and  now  are  scattered  over  a  section 
of  about  two  square  miles.  The  old  original  Afiicans  were  fine 
specimens  of  the  African  race,  all  being  tattoo  marked  and  speaking 
their  own  language.  Thej'  are  large,  well  developed  and  healthy, 
and  in  this  respect  superior  to  the  other  colored  people.  They  have 
largely  married  among  themselves  but  also  among  other  colored 
people  in  this  section.  The  increase  in  the  population  has  not  been 
greater  than  that  of  the  native  colored  people.  The  offspring  of 
those  who  have  married  native  born  colored  persons  exhibit  character- 
istics of  an  inferior  physique  to  those  of  the  original  Africans  and 
they  do  not  enjoy  good  health." 
'Waitz,  "  Anthropology,"  p.  347. 


J 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    179 

isolated  cases  of  fecundity  or  sterility,  which  had  little 
or  no  bearing  upon  the  future  progress  of  the  races,  I 
have  failed  to  find  in  any  of  the  works  on  Anthropology 
a  statement  of  facts  which  would  warrant  definite  con- 
clusions one  way  or  the  other. 

The  imperfect  state  of  vital  statistics,  even  at  the 
present  time,  makes  it  difficult  if  not  impossible  to  settle 
scientifically  the  question  of  increase  or  decrease  in 
fecundity.  This  question  would  seem  to  have  been  the 
main  object  of  the  many  inquiries  in  regard  to  the  effect 
of  crossing,  and  the  physiological  effects  seem  to  have 
been  generally  ignored.  Not  one  of  the  many  writers 
on  the  subject  deals  in  a  satisfactory  way  at  all  with  the 
comparative  vitality  of  mixed  races,  and  although  many 
statements  as  to  comparative  mortality  are  made,  they 
are  usually  based  on  insufficient  evidence.  Finally,  it 
would  seem  that  past  inquiries  have  been  directed  rather 
to  establishing  one  theory  or  another  as  to  the 
unity  or  plurality  of  the  human  race,  than  to  the 
far  more  important  end  of  proving  in  a  scientific  way 
whether  a  race  has  actually  been  benefitted  intellectually, 
morally,  or  physically  by  crossing.  Again,  the  distinc- 
tion pointed  out  by  Topinard  has  not  been  sufficiently 
drawn,  that  there  is  or  may  be  a  wide  difference  in  the 
effects  of  crossing  of  races  anthropologically  remote  from 
each  other,  as  compared  with  races  which  have  arrived 
at  about  the  same  stage  of  development 

That  races  of  similar  culture  and  physical  and  psy- 
chical development  can  intermarry-  to  mutual  advantage 
is  too  patent  a  fact  to  need  instances  in  its  support- 
That  the  children  of  mixed  parentage  of  Indo-German^ 
stock,  irresjjective  of  nationality,  are  superior  to  the  r 
ents,  is  a  fact  which  we  observe  in  every  day  life.     I 
is  an  entirely  different  matter  when  Germans  and  It 


i8o  America7i  Economic  Associatioyi. 

English  and  Spaniards,  Swedes  and  Turks  intermarry 
and  have  children'.  And  it  may  be  said,  only  with 
emphasis,  that  the  cross-breed  of  white  men  and 
colored  women  is,  as  a  rule,  a  product  inferior  to  both  ^ 
parents,  physically  and  morally.  Waitz  himself  expres- 
ses the  opinion  that  "  with  regard  to  sexual  intercourse 
and  the  quality  of  the  offspring  there  exists  both  in 
individuals,  as  well  as  between  different  nations, 
not  exactly  antipathy,  but  incompatibility  which 
though  not  explicable  as  to  its  origin,  is  sufficiently 
established.  "- 

Xhat^such  antipathy  does  exist  is  siifficienth-  prov^n^ 
by  tVif^  far^f  fViQf  wTiitf^  xyo^nen  of  this  country^  do  not 
and  never  have  shown  a  decided  inclination  to  marrv 
negroes,  andthe  most  careful  inquiry  fails  to  show  that 
J;h£i£.  hasjjeen  developed  any  tendency  towards  a  change 
in  Jtheir  attitude.  The  underlying  cause  for  this  antip- 
athy  is  what  Westermark  calls  "thejf?w  nf  siliTJl^^^llJ^' 
which,  according  to  this  eminent  writer  ^^  does  moretlian 
anything  else  to  maintain  the  sepf^ ration  of  the  different 
classes."  " A  ciyilized  race,"  he  writes,  "does  not 
readily  intermingle  with  one  less  advanced  in  civiliza- 
tion, for  the  same  reasons  \vhich  prevent  a  lord  from. 
marrying  a  peasant  girl.  And,  more  than  anytliing 
else,  .  .  .  the  enmity,  or  at  least  the  want  of 
sympathy,  due  to  differences  of  interests,  ideas  and 
habits,  which  so  often  exists  between  different  peoples  or 
tribes,  helps  to  keep  the  races  separate."^ 

Again,  "  Affection  depends  in  a  very  high  degree  upon_ 

^sympathy.    Though  distinct  aptitudes,  these  two  classes 

pet 

/(9Mf7Zrt/  of  the  Royal  Statistical  Society,  1S65,  pp.  274-75. 

^^^^^  Introduction  to  Anthropolog}',"  by  Dr.  Theodore  Waitz,  (London, 

istics  oj  Vol.  I,  p.  185. 

they  do  ^.Mnan  Marriage,"  p.  2S2. 

1  Waitz, 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    i8i 

of  emotions  are  most  intimately  connected  :  affection  is 
strengthened  by  sympathy  and  sympathy  is  strengthened 
by  affection.  Community  of  interest,  opinions,  senti- 
ments of  culture  and  mode  of  life,  as  being  essential  to 
close  sympathy,  is  therefore  favorable  to  close  affection. 
The  contrast  must  not  be  so  great  as  to  exclude  sym- 
pathy."' Finally,  "  want  of  sympathy  prevents  great 
divisions  of  human  beings,  such  as  different  races  or 
nations,  hereditary  castes,  classes  and  adherents  of  differ- 
ent religions  .  .  .  from  intermarrying,  even  where 
personal  affection  plays  no  part  in  the  choice."^ 

There  would  seem  therefore  to  be  in  operation  a  most 
powerful  cause,  which  for  ages  to  come  will  make  amal- 
gamation of  the  white  and  colored  races,  in  this  country 
at  least,  an  impossibility.  "  Between  him  (the  negro) 
and  the  white,  the  race  antipathy  seems  too  strong  for 
any  great  degree  of  amalgamation  ever  to  take  place 
while  the  mulatto  has  the  infertility  of  a  hybrid."  ^  But 
we  have  to  face  the  fact  that  the  races  do  mix  in  spite  of 
the  effect  of  the  law  of  similarity  which  makes  intermar- 
riage of  such  rare  occurrence.  The  crossing  of  the  white 
and  colored  races  in  this  country  is,  therefore,  not  within 
the  lawful  bounds  of  marriage,  but  outside  of  the  pale  of 
the  moral  lavv^.  That  an  immense  amount  of  concubinage 
and  prostitution  prevails  among  the  colored  women  of  the 
United  States  is  a  fact  fully  admitted  by  the  negroes  them- 
selves. It  is  most  prevalent,  as  is  natural,  in  the  large 
cities,  but  exists  also  to  a  large  extent  in  the  rural  por- 
tions of  the  country.  Of  the  two  evils,  prostitution  for 
gain  prevails  the  more  widely,  and  it  is  but  natural  that 
we  should  find  on  investigation  that  the  inevitable  con- 

'  "Human  Marriage,"  p.  362. 

•'  Ibid,  p.  544. 

•'Charles  Morris,   "The  Aryan  Race,"  p.  316. 


i82  Afncnca7i  Econoviic  Association. 

sequences  of  a  life  of  sexual  immorality  have  very  seri- 
ously affected   the  physical  and  moral  characteristics  of  — 
the  colored  race. 

These  consequences  fall  most  heavily  on  the  offspring. 
The  children  of  colored  women  and  white  men,  of 
whatever  shade  of  color,  are  morally  and  physically  the>^ 
inferiors  of  the  pure  black.  It  has  been  stated  by  Nott 
and  proved  by  subsequent  experience,  that  the  mulatto 
is  in  every  way  the  inferior  of  the  black,  and  of  all  races 
the  one  possessed  of  the  least  vital  force.  I  cannot  do 
better  than  give  in  full  the  opinions  of  the  examining 
surgeons  of  the  army  during  the  war,  as  to  the  vitality 
and  general  physical  condition  of  the  mulatto.  The 
following  are  excerpts  from  the  report  of  the  Provost- 
Alarshal  General. 

There  are  few  if  any  pure  Africans  [in  Vermont],  but  a  mixed 
race  only.  They  probably  lose  in  vitality  what  they  gain  in  symmetry 
of  form  by  admixture  ;  they  die  early  of  scrofula  or  tuberculosis. ' 

Although  I  have  known  some  muscular  and  healthy  mulattoes,  I 
am  convinced  that,  as  a  general  rule,  any  considerable  admixture  of 
white  blood  deteriorates  the  physique  and  impairs  the  powers  of  en- 
durance, and  almost  always  introduces  a  scrofulous  taint."^ 

1  believe  a  genuine  black  far  superior  in  physical  endurance  to 
the  mulatto  or  yellow  negro  ;  the  last  named  are  with  few  exceptions, 
scrofulous  or  consumptive.'' 

The  colored  men,  as  far  as  my  observation  goes,  make  excellent 
soldiers,  .  .  .  The  mulatto,  however,  is  comparatively  worthless, 
subject  to  scrofula  and  tuberculosis.* 

The  chief  disability  being among  those  of  mixed 

blood,  a  tendency  to  scrofula. ■" 

The  majority  of  those  rejected  were  of  northern  birth  and  gener- 
erally  mulattoes." 

In  this  country  the  mixture  [of  the  colored]  with  the   whites   con- 

'Page  192,  B.  F.  Morgan,  M.  D.,  Rutland,  Vt 

2  Page  199,  H.  B.  Hubbard,  M.  D.,  Taunton,  Mass. 
^Page  225,  C.  G.  McKnight,  M.  D.,  Providence,  R.  I. 
^Page  261,  C.  L.  Hubbell,  M.  D.,  Troy,  N.  Y. 

^Page  302,  J.  Rallston  Wells,  M.  D.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
«Page304,  J.  H.  Mears,  M.  D.,  Frankfort,  Pa. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  Americaji  Negi'o.    183 

tributes  greatly  to  lower  their  health  and  stamina  and  we  find  com- 
paratively few  of  mixed  breeds  who  are  free  from  scrofula.' 

The  pure  Africans,  that  is,  with  no  admixture  of  white  blood,  as  a 
class  were  the  most  muscularlj'  developed  of  any  men  examined. 
The  mulattoes  have  more  intelligence  .  .  .  but  they  were  scrofu- 
lous and  consumptive.'^ 

The  African  race,  when  pure  and  not  mixed  with  white  blood,  is 
more  capable  of  enduring  hardships     .      .      .      than  the  white  race.* 

The  pure  bloodeil  African  is  in  every  way  physically  the  equal  to 
the  European.  .  .  .  Their  mixture  witli  the  white  race  deterior- 
ates very  much  from  their  physical  development.* 

The  conviction  arising  from  an  examination  of  a  few  hundred  of 
various  shades  of  color  is  that  the  negro  proper  is  well  adapted  for 
military  service,  but  that  the  mulatto  and  all  varieties  of  mixture  of 
black  and  white  blood  have  degenerated  physically,  being  very  often 
found  with  tuberculosis  and  other  manifestations  of  imperfect  organ- 
ism.^ 

Ill  contrast  with  the  foregoing  opinions,  in  only  one 
instance  was  an  opinion  given,  which  was  favorable  to 
the  mixed  type  and  that  was  based  on  only  two  cases, 
which  make  it  of  no  determining  value. 

These  emphatic  opinions  of  qualified  medical  men, 
with  abundant  opportunity  for  observation,  is  fully  sup- 
ported by  the  results  of  the  investigations  of  Dr.  Gould, 
Some  of  the  data  collected  by  Dr.  Gould  have  already 
been  referred  to  in  the  previous  chapter,  but  the  follow- 
ing summary  of  comparative  physical  measurements  of 
the  pure  and  mixed  races  may  not  be  out  of  place  at 
this  time.  As  regards  weight,  there  is  very  little  differ- 
.ence.  The  average  was  141. 4  lbs.  for  the  white,  144.6 
for  the  full  black,  and  144,8  for  the  mulatto.  As  I  have 
stated  before,  I  attach  less  value  to  this  test,  as  applied 
to  the  colored  race  than  to  the  white  race,  since  the  in- 
crease in  weight  is  one  of  quantity  only  instead  of  quan- 

1  Page  311,  R.  H.  Sm.th,  M.  D.,  West  Chester,  Pa. 

'  'Page  353,  Thos.  F.  Murdoch,  M.  U.,  Baltimore,  Md. 

3  Page  394,  J.  R.  Veeter,  M.  D.,  Jefferson  City,  Mo. 

*  Page  403,  David  Noble,  M.  D,,  Hillsborough,  Ohio. 

*  Page  418,  Iv.  M.  Whiting,  M.  D.,  Alliance,  Ohio. 


184  American  Economic  Association. 

tity  and  quality  combined.  The  average  circumference 
of  the  chest  was  35.8  inches  for  the  white,  35.1  for  the 
full  black,  and  34.96  for  the  mulatto.  The  difference  is 
in  favor  of  the  full  black,  but  too  slight  to  be  of  any  im- 
portance. 

The  capacity  of  the  lungs,  the  most  important  of  all 
determining  factors  among  physical  measurements,  was 
184.7  cubic  inches  for  the  white,  163.5  for  the  full  black 
and  only  158.9  for  the  mulatto.  This  low  vital  capacity 
is  without  question  the  most  serious  fact  affecting  the 
longevity  of  the  mixed  races,  and  one  which  explains 
the  lower  vitality  and  less  resistance  to  disease  than  is 
found  in  the  negro  of  pure  blood.  The  rate  of  respira- 
tion is  also  unfavorable  for  the  mixed  race,  and  accord- 
ing to  Gould  is  16.4  per  minute  for  the  white,  17.7  for 
the  pure  black  and  19.0  for  the  mulatto  in  usual  vigor. 

On  the  basis  of  these  observations,  the  conclusion  is 
warranted,  that  the  mixed  race  is  physically  the  in- 
ferior of  the  white  and  pure  black,  and  as  a  result  of 
this  inferior  degree  of  vital  power  we  meet  with  a  lesser 
degree  of  resistance  to  disease  and  death  among  the 
mixed  population,  in  contrast  with  the  more  favorable 
condition  prevailing  among  the  whites  and  pure  blacks. 
Morally,  the  mulatto  cannot  be  said  to  be  the  su- 
perior of  the  pure  black.  In  the  absence  of  compara- 
ative  statistics  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  prove  this 
assertion,  based  largely  on  individual  observation,  which 
may  and  may  not  be  accurate.  This  much,  how- 
ever, is  probably  true,  that  most  of  the  illicit  intercourse 
between  whites  and  colored  is  with  mulatto  women 
and  seldom  with  those  of  the  pure  type.  From  such 
jinstances  as  have  come  to  my  notice,  the  few  white  men 
who  have  married  colored  females   usually  prefer   the 


Race  Traits  and  Tejidcncies  of  the  American  A^egro.    185 


mulatto,  and  the  same  selection  no  doubt  prevails  anion o- 
tliose  who  disregard  the  law  of  sexual  morality. 

Intellectually,  the  mulatto  is  undoubtedly  the  superior 
(^  of  the  pure  black.  Of  this  there  is  much  evidence  suffi- 
cieuLly  welf^riown  not  to  need  presentation  in  detail. 
It  may,  however,  be  of  value  to  give  a  few  data  showing 
the  physiological  changes  that  have  taken  place  in  the 
mixed  races  as  a  consequence  of  the  infusion  of  white 
blood.  In  the  work  of  Gould  information  is  given  show- 
ing the  comparative  cranial  measurements  of  the  pure 
black  and  the  mixed  type,  and  it  is  shown  that  as  re- 
gards circumference  of  the  head  and  the  facial  angle, 
the  mulatto  approximates  the  white  race  more  nearly 
than  the  pure  black.  As  regards  the  former,  the  aver- 
age circumference  of  the  head  was  22.1  inches  for  the 
white,  22.0  for  the  mulatto,  and  21.9  for  the  full  black. 
The  facial  angle  measured  72.0°  for  the  white,  69.2°  for 
the  mulatto,  and  68.8°  for  the  full  black.  These  facts 
are  fully  supported  by  the  observations  of  Dr.  Sanford 
B.  Hunt,  who  carefully  investigated  the  weight  of  the 
brain  as  affected  by  crossing.  According  to  Dr.  Hunt 
the  average  weight  of  the  brain  increases  according  to 
the  extent  of  crossing,  so  that  the  type  presenting  the 
largest  admixture  with  the  white,  presents  also  the 
heaviest  weight  of  the  brain.  The  table  of  Dr.  Hunt  is 
given  in  full  on  account  of  its  great  value. 

WEIGHT  OF  THE  BRAIN  OF  WHITE  AND  COLORED   SOI^DIERS.i 
(Grammes.) 


No.  of  Cas^s. 

Degree  of  Color. 

Weight  of  Brain. 



=4 

whites 

three  parts  white 

1424  grammes 
1390 

othe    47 

half  white 

1334 

'         51 
«f^     95 

one-fourth  white 
oue-eighth  white 

1319 
1308         " 

tal  1      22 

one-sixteeuth  white 

1280 

uca     141 

pure  negroes 

1331 

of  '«/AV/.*«/«^,>^ 

r/  l?^ii,\>'!,f   \rjf    11  "rv.^  •NT„ c^ 

i86  Ajuerican  Econoviic  Association. 

The  tabic  clearly  proves  that  there  is  an  increase  in 
brain  weight  with  an  increase  in  the  proportion  of  white 
blood,  and  this  fact  agrees  with  what  we  should  expect 
from  the  greater  circumference  of  the  head  and  the 
larger  facial  angle  of  the  mulatto  as  compared  with  the 
pure  negro.  {vVe  have,  therefore,  the  contrast  of  the 
mulatto  being  physically  and  possibly  morally  the  in- 
ferior of  the  pure  blooded  negro,  while  intellectually 
he  is  the  superior.  ) 

This  statistical  fact  could  easily  be  supported  by 
numerous  instances  of  exceptional  individual  progress, 
which  as  a  rule  has  been  made  by  those  who  had  a  large 
proportion  of  white  blood  in  their  veins.  But  important 
as  these  exceptional  instances  may  be,  they  must  not  be 
compared,  as  they  too  often  are,  with  the  intellectual  pro- 
gress of  the  whites.  I  cannot  do  better  in  illustration 
of  this  point  than  to  quote  Vogt's  remarks  on  the  well 
known  case  of  Lille  Geoffroy,  who  was  the  offspring  of 
a  Frenchman  and  a  negro  woman  of  Martinique  :  "As 
a  proof  in  favor  of  the  scientific  and  artistic  capacity  of 
the  negro,  we  find  cited  in  nearly  all  works  the  instance 
of  INIr.  Lille  Geoffroy,  of  Martinique,  an  engineer  and 
mathematician  and  correspondent  member  of  the  French 
Academy.  The  fact  is  that  the  mathematical  perform- 
ances of  the  above  gentleman  were  of  such  a  nature  that, 
had  he  been  born  in  Germany  of  white  parents,  he 
might,  perhaps,  have  been  qualified  to  be  a  mathematical 
teacher  in  a  middle  class  school  or  engineer  of  a  railway ; 
but  having  been  born  in  Martinique,  of  colored  parents, 
he  shone  like  a  one-eyed  man  among  the  totally  blind. 
M.  Lille  besides,  was  not  a  pure  black  but  a  mulatt-     ^y 

This  distinction,  so  ably  pointed  out,  is  almost  al 

,    .       ,.  .  ,       .       ,,  ,  men 

lost   sight    of   m    discussions   on   the   intellectual 

"^  the 

'Vogt,  "Lectures  on  Man,"  pp.  192-3.  — ' 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    187 

gress,  not  only  of  the  mulatto,  but  also  of  the  negro. 
Yet  it  is  the  most  important,  since  it  alone  will  separate 
the  real  from  the  unreal,' 

I  may  state  here  that  together  with  an  increase  in  so-  - 
called  education  there  has  not  been  as  much  progress  in 
morality  as  would  take  place  if  the  education  were 
genuine  and  not,  as  it  is  in  fact,  a  mere  varnish  of  ques- 
tionable value.  And  for  this  reason  the  mere  fact  that 
there  has  been  an  increase  in  brain  weight,  in  cranial 
capacity,  is  of  very  little  importance  as  compared  with 
the  fact  that  there  has  been  a  decrease  in  vital  force  by 
reason  of  the  infusion  of  white  blood.  It  is  only  another 
illustration  of  the  fact  that  when  a  race  of  a  lower  de- 
gree of  civilization  comes  in  contact  with  a  superior  race 
it  will  first  imitate  the  superior  race  in  the  external,  I 
might  say  the  ornamental,  characteristics,  rather  than  in 
the  useful  and  permanent.  Thus  the  long  heel  of  the 
negro  has  decreased  from  0.82  inches  in  the  black  to 
0.57  inches  in  the  mulatto,  compared  with  0.48  inches  in 
the  white.  The  same  has  been  shown  to  be  true  as  re- 
gards the  facial  angle,  which  is  of  no  possible  value  as  a 
vital  factor.     Other  points  could  be  given  to  show  that 

'The  remarks  of  Vogt  are  applicable  to  the  numerous  receut  in- 
stances where  degrees  from  colleges  and  universities,  and  honors  as 
class  orators,  have  been  conferred  upon  negroes  who,  had  they  been 
white  men,  would  never  had  been  for  an  instant  considered  deserving 
of  such  exceptional  appreciation  of  their  intellectual  efforts.  Honors 
thus  easily  gained  by  niembersof  thecoloredrace,  must  in  the  end  prove 
moteof  ahinderance  than  a  help  to  real  intellectual  progress,  since  the 
distinction  thus  conferred  is  out  of  proportion  to  the  efforts  or  achieve- 
ments by  the  person  thus  distinguished.  The  consequences  of  such 
utterly  unjustifiable  action  on  the  part  of  great  institutions  of  learn- 
ing are  met  in  the  excessive  laudations  of  their  own  intellectual  or 
other  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  negro  writers  themselves,  and  a  want 
of  genuine  respect  for  great  learning  and  hard  and  unremitting  men- 
tal labor.  And  as  a  result  the  more  subtle  and  important  effects  of  ed- 
ucation and  the  higher  life  are  lost,  and  only  vanity  and  foolish  pride 
of  race  are  fostered. 


i88  American  Economic  Association. 

in  the  least  important  physical  characteristics  the  mixed 
race  has  a  tendency  to  resemble  the  white,  while  in  the 
more  important,  that  is  in  vital  and  moral  characteris- 
tics, it  is  inferior  even  to  the  pure  black. 

On  the  strength  of  the  foregoing  facts  and  observa- 
tions, the  conclusions  would  seem  warranted  that  the 
crossing  of  the  negro  race  with  the  white  has  been  detri-  \ 
mental  to  its  true  progress,  and  has  contributed  more 
than  anything  else  to  the  excessive  and  increasing  rate 
of  mortality  from  the  uiost  fatal  diseases,  as  well  as  to 
its  consequent  inferior  social  efficiency  and  diuiinishing 
power  as  a  force  in  American  national  life. 

If  the  above  conclusion  is  accepted,  it  is  of  no  small 
importance  to  ascertain  whether  the  tendency  of  the  race 
is  towards  amalgamation  or  isolation.  It  was  brought 
out  in  the  first  part  of  this  work  that  there  is  a  positive 
tendency  on  the  part  of  the  colored  population  in  the 
rural  sections  of  the  South  to  congregate  in  coun- 
ties w^iere  the  race  is  most  numerous.  For  the  large 
cities  the  same  tendency  was  shown  in  the  congregation 
of  the  colored  population  in  a  few  wards,  usually  the 
worst  sections  of  the  city  from  a  sanitary  or  moral  stand- 
point. It  was  also  shown,  for  Chicago  at  least,  that 
this  congregation  was  towards  the  section  containing 
large  numbers  of  houses  of  ill-fame,  and  the  conclusion 
is  inevitable  that  the  majority  of  the  colored  living  in 
this  section  were  directly  or  indirectly  connected  with 
this  lowest  phase  of  city  life.  Hence,  as  regards  the 
large  cities,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  congregation  of 
the  negroes  into  a  few  wards  indicates  a  tendenc}^  towards 
race  isolation  and  race  purity.  If  in  this  connection  we 
take  into  consideration  the  further  fact  that  in  the  colored 
race  the  females  outnumber  the  males  more  greatly  than 
is  true  for  the  white  race,  the  conclusion  seems  fairly 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    189 

warranted  that  large  numbers  of  colored  women  who 
drift  from  the  country  into  the  cities,  from  whatever 
cause,  adopt  a  life  of  prostitution  for  gain.  And  for  this 
unfortunate  social  fact,  the  lower  classes  of  white  men 
are  almost  entirely  responsible.  For  while  irregular 
sexual  relations  between  the  two  sexes  of  the  colored 
race  prevail  all  over  the  South,  it  is  more  in  the  nature 
of  concubinage  than  prostitution  for  gain.  That  lawful 
marriage  between  the  two  races  is  rare  and  of  even  less 
frequent  occurrence  now  than  thirty  years  ago,  will 
presently  be  shown  by  such  statistics  as  I  have  been  able 
to  collect.  Before  I  consider  the  available  data,  I  wish 
to  deal  briefly  with  the  theory  of  race  amalgamation  as 
it  has  been  advocated  with  more  or  less  persistency  dur- 
ing the  present  century. 

One  of  the  earliest  discussions  on  the  subject  of  the 
gradual  absorption  of  the  colored  race  of  this  country  by 
the  whites,  I  have  met  with  in  the  Edinbiirg  Review 
for  1827,  which  contains  the  following  statement :  "  We 
entertain  little  doubt  that  when  the  laws  which  create 
a  distinction  between  the  races  shall  be  completely 
abolished,  a  very  few  generations  will  mitigate  the 
prejudices  which  those  laws  have  created  and  which  they 
still  maintain.  ...  At  that  time,  the  black  girl 
who,  as  a  slave  would  have  attracted  a  white  lover, 
will,  when  her  father  gives  her  a  good  education  and  can 
leave  her  a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  find  no  difficulty 
in  procuring  a  white  husband." 

The  laws  which  made  a  distinction  between  the  races 

have  been  abolished,  and  at  least  one  generation  has 

passed  since  then,  but  the  two  races  are  to-day  more  than 

ever  removed  from  amalgamation  by  means  of  lawful 

marriage.     Even  the  wealth  of  a  colored  girl  would  not 

procure  for  her  a  good  white  husband.     A  marriage  for 
13 


I  go  American  Economic  Association. 

a  consideration  would,  of  course,  be  a  return  to  marriage 
by  purchase,  which,  fortunately,  is  gradually  passing 
away.  A  '  lover '  who  would  be  attracted  by  a  $100,000 
girl  would  be  such  in  name  only. 

Lyell,  in  1849,'  expressed  a  similar  opinion  in  the  fol- 
lowing words  :  "  This  incident  [the  runaway  match  of 
a  white  man  with  a  mulatto  seamstress]  is  important 
from  many  points  of  view,  and  especially  as  proving  to 
what  an  extent  the  amalgamation  of  the  two  races  would 
take  place,  if  it  were  not  checked  by  artificial  prejudices 
and  the  most  jealous  and  severe  enactments  of  law." 

But  the  most  determined  attempt  to  create  a  national 
sentiment  in  favor  of  race  assimilation  on  a  large  scale 
was  made  during  the  period  of  the  war  by  a  !\Ir.  Croly 
and  others,  who  brought  together  in  a  pamphlet  their 
views  on  the  subject,  views  which  were  fully  shared  by 
the  more  zealous  advocates  of  the  abolition  of  slavery. 
Thus  Mr.  Wendell  Phillips  in  his  Fourth  of  July  oration 
of  1863,  advocated  "  amalgamation  to  the  fullest  extent." 
Mr.  Theodore  Tilton,  editor  of  the  Indcpcndoit,  in  a 
speech  expressed  himself  as  follows  :  "  I  am  not  advo- 
cating the  union  of  whites  and  blacks.  This  is  taking 
place  without  advocacy.  It  neither  waits  for  the  per- 
mission of  an  argument  in  favor  of  it  nor  stays  at  the 
barrier  of  an  argument  against  it.  I  am  often  asked, 
'  would  you  marry  a  black  woman  ?'  I  reply  .  .  I 
have  a  wife  already  and,  therefore,  will  not.  I  am  asked, 
'  do  you  think  a  white  man  ought  ever  to  marry  a  black 
woman  ?'  I  reply,  when  a  man  and  a  woman  want  to 
get  married,  it  is  their  business,  not  mine  or  anybody 
else's."  And  again  by  the  same  writer  :  "  The  history 
of  the  world's  civilization  is  written  in  one  word — which 

'  "Second  Visit  to  the  United  States,"  (New  York,  1849),  Vol.  II, 
p.  2l6. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    191 

many  are  afraid  to  speak — many  afraid  to  hear — and 
that  is  amalgamation." 

But  neither  Air.  Phillips  nor  Mr.  Tilton  went  as  far 
as  the  authors  of  "  Miscegenation,"  who  advocated  com- 
plete amalgamation  not  only  of  whites  and  blacks  but 
also  of  whites  and  Chinese  and  all  other  races  of  what- 
ever state  of  culture. 

All  that  is  needed  to  make  us  the  finest  race  on  earth  is  to  engraft 
upon  our  stock  the  nej^ro  element,  which  Providence  has  placed  by 
our  side  on  this  continent.  Of  all  the  rich  treasures  of  blood 
vouchsafed  to  us,  that  of  the  negro  is  most  precious  because  it  is  the 
most  unlike  any  other  that  enters  into  the  composition  of  national 
life. 

The  white  people  of  America  are  dying  for  want  of  fresh  blood. 
They  have  bone  and  sinew,  but  they  are  dry  and  shriveled  for  lack  of 
the  healthful  juices  of  life. 

The  fact  may  be  startling,  but  the  student  of  ethnology  will  be 
willing  to  admit  that  in  course  of  time  the  dark  races  must  absorb  the 
white. 

Let  the  war  go  on,  until  church  and  state  and  society  recognize 
not  only  the  propriety  but  the  necessity  of  the  marriage  of  white  and 
black  ...  in  short,  until  the  great  truth  shall  be  declared  in  our 
public  documents  and  announced  in  the  messages  of  our  Presidents, 
that  it  is  desirable  that  the  white  man  shall  marry  the  black  woman 
and  the  white  woman  the  black  man.  .  .  .  It  is  only  by  the  in- 
fusion into  the  very  system  of  the  vital  forces  of  a  tropical  race,  that 
the  white  race  may  regain  health  and  strength.^ 

It  is  not  necessary  to  comment  on  any  of  the  foregoing 
utterances.  They  are  reproduced  for  the  purpose  of 
showing,  that,  for  a  time  at  least,  the  complete  absorp- 
tion of  the  negro  by  the  white  race,  or  of  the  white  by 
the  negro  race,  was  seriously  discussed  and  advocated  by 
some  of  the  foremost  men  of  the  day. 

The  fundamental  error,  which  underlies  the  argument 
in  favor  of  race  assimilation  or  absorption,  has  been 
pointed  out  in  the  beginning.  To  ignore  the  law  of 
similarity  would,  in  itself,  lead  to  disastrous  conse- 
quences.    It  is,  for  instance,  a  well  known  fact  that  a 

^  "Miscegenation,"  by  D.  G.  Croly  and  others.     New  York,  1864. 


192  American  Economic  Association. 

lower  fecundity  prevails  in  the  case  of  marriages  be- 
tween Jews  and  Christians  than  for  marriages  among 
persons  of  the  same  creed.  This  is  atributed  by  Walcker' 
to  the  dissimilarity  of  the  two  contracting  parties,  the 
disappointment  which  follows  such  unions  on  account 
of  the  inability  of  the  Christian  to  adopt  the  mode  of 
living  or  sympathize  with  the  inner  life  of  the  Jew  and 
vice  versa.  That  is  to  say,  the  barriers  which  make 
marriages  of  Jews  and  Christians  less  fruitful  are  psyche 
logical  rather  than  physiological.  It  has  been  found  that 
the  number  of  children  to  a  marriage  was  4.35  where  both 
persons  were  of  the  same  religion  (Christian),  but  only 
1.58  where  the  father  was  Christian  and  the  mother 
a  Jewess.  When  both  were  Jews  the  number  of  births 
to  a  marriage  was  4.21,  but  only  1.78  where  the  father 
was  evangelical,  and  1.66  where  the  father  was  a  Cath- 
olic.^^ 

After  all  the  centuries  of  contact  of  the  Jews  with 
Christians  only  about  five  per  cent  of  them  marry  persons 
of  any  other  religion  than  their  own.  In  Algeria,  inter- 
marriages of  Jews  with  Christians  are  not  on  the  increase 
-and  the  same  has  been  said  of  the  Jews  in  other  countries.^ 
Yet  the  differences  that  separate  the  Jew  from  the  Gen-  ^ 
tile  are  as  nothing  compared  with  the  gulf  that  separates 
the  white  from  the  colored  race.  Frequently  as  races 
have   intermixed   with    one    another   they   have    been 

1  Dr.  Karl  Walcker,  "  Grundriss  der  Statistik  "  (Berlin,  1889),  p.  138. 

^Journal  0/ the  American  Statisticat  Association,  vol.  Ill,  p.  245. 

^Marriages  of  Jewish  women  to  European  men,  1888-90,  26  cases  ; 
1891-3,  20  cases.  Marriages  of  Jewish  men  to  European  women,  19 
cases  during  the  first  three  years  ;  15  cases  during  the  last  three  years. 
Only  one  marriage  of  a  Jewish  woman  to  a  Mussulman  is  recorded 
during  the  six  year  period  and  none  between  a  native  woman  and  a 
Jewish  man.  For  further  details  see  "Statistique  G^ndrale  de  1'  Al- 
gerie,"  Alger,  1891  and  1S94. 


Race  Traits  and  Te^idencies  of  the  Amcrica^i  Negro.    193 

usually  of  types  of  similar  degree  of  culture  aud  mental 
development. 

Among  more  recent  writers,  Dr.  Leffingwell  has  ad- 
vanced the  opinion  that  "  before  half  a  dozen  centuries 
have  expired,  the  African  will  have  as  completely 
merged  his  race  in  the  three  hundred  millions  of  people 
on  the  American  continent  as  Phenician  and  Greek,  Sar- 
acen, Roman  and  Norman  have  blended  into  the  Nea- 
politan who  basks  in  the  sunshine  of  San  Lucia."  ' 

The  few  generations  of  the  editor  of  the  Edinburgh 
Review  have  been  expanded  by  Dr.  Leffingwell  into  a 
few  centuries.  The  former  have  passed  and  no  amal- 
gamation has  taken  place,  nor  are  there  any  indications 
whatever  that  a  few  centuries  will  accomplish  what  has 
not  been  accomplished  thus  far.  The  opinion  of  Dr. 
Leffingwell,  that  as  a  matter  of  course  "  the  greater  part 
of  this  change  (from  pure  to  mixed  races)  will  be  effected 
by  lawful  marriage  "  is  not  supported  by  a  single  statis- 
tical fact.  Evidence  of  this  will  be  produced  farther  on, 
when  it  will  be  shown  that  intermarriage  between  the 
two  races  is  less  frequent  now  than  ever  before,  although 
it  has  been  at  all  times  of  rare  occurrence. 

I\Ir.  T.  T.  Fortune,  the  editor  of  the  New  York  Age,. 
(a  paper  devoted  to  the  interest  of  the  colored  race),  at 
the  Africa  Congress  of  the  Atlanta  Exposition,  ex- 
pressed his  view  in  the  following  words:  "The  min- 
ority race  alongside  a  majority  race  is  destined  to  be 
absorbed  by  the  majority  race.  If  the  white  race  did 
not  want  to  absorb  the  black  it  ought  to  have  left  it  in 
Africa.  If  the  white  man  did  not  want  to  be  absorbed 
by  the  black  race  it  ought  to  have  staid  out  of  Africa." 
In  contrast  with  the  view  of  Dr.  Leffingwell  and  Islx. 
Fortune,  we  have  the  opinion  of  Dr.   Alexander,   the 

'  "Illegilimacy,"  p.  75. 


194 


Amen'caji  Economic  Association. 


author  of  a  history  of  African  colonization,  who  wrote 
fifty  years  ago  :  "  Two  races  of  men,  nearly  equal 
in  numbers,  but  differing  as  much  as  the  whites  and 
blacks,  cannot  form  one  harmonious  society  in  any  other 
way  than  by  amalgamation  ;  but  the  whites  and  blacks 
in  this  country  by  no  human  efforts,  could  be  amalga- 
mated into  one  homogeous  mass  in  a  thousand  years."  ^ 
Mr.  Bruce,  in  his  work,  "  The  Plantation  Negro  as  a 
Freeman,"  asserts,  that  illicit  sexual  intercourse  between 
the  two  races  has  diminished  since  the  war. 

A  far  more  remarkable  evirlence  of  social  antipathy  of  the  white 
people  to  the  negro  is  the  fact  that  illicit  sexual  intercourse  between 
the  races  has  diminished  so  far  as  to  have  almost  ceased  outside  the 
cities  and  towns,  where  the  association  being  more  casual,  is  more 
frequent.  This  is  due  to  the  attitude  of  the  whites,  for  the  negresses 
are  less  modest  as  a  class  than  they  were  before  the  abolition  of  slavery, 
since  they  are  now  under  no  restriction  at  all.  In  consequence  of  this 
reserve  on  the  part  of  the  white  men,  the  mulattoes  are  rapidly  de- 
creasing in  numbers  with  the  progress  of  time,  and  the  negroes  as  a 
mass  are  gradually  but  surely  reverting  to  the  African  type. 
As  his  skin  darkens  in  its  return  to  that  of  his  remote  ancestors,  the 
prospects  of  blacks  and  whites  lawfully  mixing  their  blood  fades  to 
the  thinnest  shadow  of  probability.  .  .  .  The  few  white  women 
who  have  given  birth  to  mulattoes  liave  always  been  regarded  as  mon- 
sters ;  and  without  exception  they  have  belonged  to  the  most  impov- 
erished and  degraded  caste  of  whites,  by  whom  they  are  scrupulously 
avoided  as  creatures  who  have  sunk  to  the  level  of  the  beasts  of  the 
field.  ■' 

The  opinion  of  ]\Ir.  Bruce  is  accepted  by  ]\Ir.  Bryce, 
who  also  holds  that  there  is  less  intercourse  between  the 
white  male  and  the  colored  female  under  conditions  of 
freedom  than  there  was  under  slavery.  In  the  Scottish 
Geographical  Magaziiic^  he  expresses  his  opinion,  wliich 
is  in  marked  contrast  with  the  view  of  those  who  believe 
in  the  possibility  of  an  extensive  race  amalgamation. 

'  "A  History  of  Colonization  on  the  West  Coast  of  Africa,"  (Phila-. 
delphia,  1846),  p.  17. 

2  Bruce,   "The  Plantation  Negro  as  a  Freeman,"  pages  53-55. 


Race  Traits  a7id  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    195 

Nothiiij?  better  illustrates  the  assimilative  power  of  a  vigorous 
community  than  the  way  in  which  the  immigrants  into  the  United 
States  melt  like  sugar  in  a  cup  of  tea,  and  see  their  children  grow  up 
no  longer  Germans  or  Norwegians  or  even  Irish  or  Italians  or  Czechs, 
but  Anglo-Americans.  With  the  negroes,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is 
practically  no  admixture  ;  and  so  far  as  can  be  foreseen  they  will  remain, 
at  least  in  the  subtropical  part  of  the  South,  distinctly  African  in  their 
physical  and  mental  characteristics  for  centuries  to  come.  The  same 
remark  holds  true  of  the  white  and  black  races  of  South  Africa,  where 
the  process  of  blood  mixture,  which  went  on  to  some  extent  between 
the  Dutch  and  the  Hottentots,  has  all  but  stopped.  ^ 

According  to  Mr.  Br^xe  there  is  therefore  to  be  ob- 
served not  only  a  decrease  in  the  tendency  towards  mix- 
ture of  the  white  and  colored  races  in  this  country,  but 
also  as  between  the  whites  and  blacks  of  South  Africa. 
Hence,  neither  do  the  whites  absorb  the  negroes  of  this 
country,  nor  the  negroes  of  Africa  the  whites  who  have 
settled  there. 

Instances  where  two  or  more  races  have  dwelt  together 
for  ages  without  amalgamation  are  frequent  and  need 
not  be  dwelt  upon  at  length  here.  According  to  Mr. 
Westermark,  "  marriages  between  Lapps  and  Swedes 
rareh-  occur,  being  looked  upon  as  dishonorable  by  both 
peoples.  They  are  equally  uncommon  between  Lapps 
and  Norwegians  and  it  rarely  ever  happens  that  a  Lapp 
marries  a  Russian."  Count  de  Gobineau,  according  to 
Westermark  remarks  that  "  not  even  a  common  religion 
and  country  can  extinguish  the  herditary  aversion  of 
the  Arab  to  the  Turk,  of  the  Kurd  to  the  Nestorian  of 
Syria,  of  the  ]\Iagyar  to  the  Slav."' 

An  interesting  instance  is  presented  in  the  case  of  the 
Ainos  of  Japan,  who  are  a  distinct  race  from  the  Japan- 
ese, and  who,  after  centuries  of  close  association,  are  as 

>"  Assimilation  of  Races  in  the  United  States,"  etc..  Professor 
James  Bryce  in  Scottish  Geographical  RIagazinc,  1892.  Reprinted 
in  Smithsonian  Report,  1893,  page  5S6,  et  seq. 

-  "  Human  Marriage." 


196  American  Economic  Association. 

distinct  in  their  character  and  habits  of  life  as  if  they 
had  never  come  in  contact  with  the  superior  race  of 
Japanese.  It  is  said  that  the  Ainos,  being  unable  to 
affiliate  more  closely  with  the  Japanese,  are  doomed  to 
extinction.  The  half  castes  die  out  with  the  third  or 
fourth  generation  and  the  children  of  Japanese  and  Ainos 
are  never  vigorous  and  healthy.' 

The  Eurasian  race  of  India  present  almost  identically 
the  same  problem  as  the  negroes  of  this  country.  Accord- 
ing to  Sara  J.  Duncan  there  is  no  remote  chance  of  its 
ever  being  re-absorbed  by  either  of  its  original  elements, 
the  prejudices  of  both  Europeans  and  natives  being  far 
too  vigorous  to  permit  intermarriage  with  a  race  of  peo- 
ple who  are  neither  one  nor  the  other.  I  may  be  per- 
mitted to  give  here  the  consequences  of  such  inter- 
mixture of  Europeans  with  Indians  in  Calcutta,  where 
some  20,000  of  Eurasians  live. 

It  is  a  hard  saving,  but  il  suffers  little  contradiction,  that  morally 
the  Eurasians  inherit  defects  more  conspicuously  than  virtues  from 
both  races  from  which  they  spring.  Drunkenness  is  not  common 
among  them,  nor  is  brutality.  .  .  .  But  their  indolence  and  un- 
thrift  are  proverbial,  as  are  their  cupidity  and  instability  of  character. 
.  .  .  The  social  evil  among  the  lower  classes  is  very  hideous. 
They  seem  to  have  a  code  of  their  own,  which  is  capable  of  infinite 
infraction,  and  they  touch  a  level  of  degradation  which  is  far  lower 
than  any  reached  by  the  pure  heathen  about  them.  This  is  apparent- 
ly an  ineradicable  thing,  for  it  has  its  root  in  physical  inheritance  and 
its  reason  is  racial.^ 

In  the  West  Indies  the  coolies  of  Trinidad  do  not  mix 
with  the  negro  or  the  mulatto.  According  to  Froude 
they  are  proud  and  will  not  intermarry  with  the  African.^ 
According  to  the  registrar-general  of  Trinidad  "very 
few   East   Indian  women   have  intermarried  with    the 

'  "  The  Ainos  of  Yezo,  Japan,"  by  Romyn  Hitchcock,  report  of  the 
National  Museum,  Smithsonian  Institution,  1S90. 
'  Popular  Science  Monthly,  Nov.,  1S92. 
3  "The  English  in  the  West  Indies,"  p.  74. 


Race  Tf-aiis  and  Tendencies  of  the  Amcricaji  Negro.    197 

native  colored  population  in  which  the  gradations  from 
white  to  black  are  so  fine  that  no  census  enumeration  by 
complexions  has  been  attempted."^ 

Intermarriage  of  the  negro  with  the  Indian  of  this 
country  has  also  been  infrequent,  although  there  has  at 
all  times  been  a  considerable  intermixture  of  the  Indian 
with  the  white  race.  Of  the  evil  effect  of  such  marriages 
the  agent  in  charge  of  the  Crow  agency  of  Montana 
wrote  as  follows  : 

One  great  drawback  to  the  advancement  of  these  people  [Crow 
agency,  Montana]  is  the  intermarriage  of  white  men  among  them. 
As  a  rule,  any  white  man  who  will  marry  an  Indian  woman  is  unfit  to 
associate  with  the  Indians.  The  presence  of  such  men  is  a  great  det- 
riment to  the  Indian.  The  average  Indian  is  far  superior  to  the  ma- 
jority of  whites  who  marry  Indian  women.  .  .  .  Asa  rule,  the  full 
blooded  Indian  stands  a  much  better  chance  to  become  a  man  than 
the  half-breed.  The  presence  of  these  men  causes  more  trouble  in 
the  management  of  the  Indian  than  all  other  causes  combined.^ 

This  severe  condemnation  of  intermarriage  of  whites 
with  Indians  is  fully  confirmed  by  the  investigations  of 
Dr.  Holden,  who  lived  for  a  good  many  years  among  the 
Indians  as  Agency  physician  :  "  Tribes  who  have  been 
isolated,  or  who  have  held  aloof  from  the  whites,  re- 
tained their  tribal  relations  and  declared  for  non-inter- 
course with  the  whites,  are  chaste  and  free  from  taint. 
The  tribes  who  have  opened  their  arms  to  receive  the 
white  man  have  been  subdued  by  him,  have  been  de- 
bauched and  inoculated  with  venereal  poison.'^ 

There  is  therefore  abundant  proof  that  there  is  a 
natural  aversion  between  some  races  and  that  attempts 
to  cross  this  natural  barrier,  determined  by  the  '  law  of 
similarity'  have  invariably  lead  to  the  most  disastrous 
consequences.     It  is  largely  to  the  frequency  of  illicit 

'  Census  of  Trinidad,  1891,  p.  18. 

^  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1S74,  page  261. 

"^  American  Journal  of  Obstetrics,  1S92,  p.  58. 


198  American  Eco7iomic  Associati07i. 

intercourse  between  white  males  and  colored  females 
that  we  must  attribute  the  wide  prevalence  of  syphilis 
and  scrofula  among  the  mixed  population,  as  well  as  the 
excessive  mortality,  the  lower  fecundity,  the  increasing 
tendency  to  consumption  and  other  tubercular  diseases, 
the  smaller  chest  expansion  and  vital  capacity.  All  are 
the  consequences  of  a  union  of  two  races  in  violation  of 
a  natural  law — a  law  which  superficial  writers  hav 
hoped  to  see  overcome  by  legislative  enactment. 

The  following  facts  will  prove  that  such  marriages 
are  becoming  more  and  more  infrequent  in  this  country 
as  w^ell  as  in  the  West  Indies.  The  table  below  will 
show  for  the  state  of  Michigan  the  marriages  that  have 
taken  place  between  whites  and  colored  of  both  types, 
that  is,  pure  black  and  mixed.  The  table  covers  a 
period  of  20  years  and  is  of  exceptional  value  as  indicat- 
ing the  tendency  of  the  race  in  the  direction  of  amalga- 
mation by  lawful  marriage.' 

INTER-MARRIAGES  OF  WHITE  AND  COLORED  IN  MICHIGAN.— 1874-1893. 


White  Males  Mar- 
ried to 

White  Females 
Married  to 

Periods. 

Black 
Females. 

Mulatto 
Females. 

Black 
Males 

Mulatto 
Males. 

Total. 

1S74-78  .    . 

2 

5 

8 

7 

22 

79-S3  •    • 

I 

2 

8 

.  12 

23 

84-88.    . 

.     .                   I 

4 

21 

14 

40 

89-93  •    • 

2 

I 

10 

'5 

26 

20   years,     74-93  .    . 

6 

12 

47 

46 

III 

According  to  the  table  before  us,  during  a  period  of 
twenty  years  only  i8  white  men  married  colored  females, 
w^hile  93  white  females  were  married  to  colored  men. 
On  the  basis  of  the  number  of  persons  married  during 
the  first  ten  years,  there  was  one  mixed  marriage  to 
every  6,220  persons  married,  as  compared  with  a  rate 

'  For  this  table  I  am  under  obligations  to  the  Hon.   Washington 
Gardner,  secretary  of  state  of  Michigan. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.    199 

of  one  to  every  7,931  during  the  next  ten  years.  It  is  a 
matter  of  some  surprise  to  find  that  the  numbers  of 
blacks  and  mulattoes  who  married  white  women  were 
ahnost  equal,  indicating  no  decided  preference  on  the 
part  of  the  white  woman  for  colored  persons  of  mixed  {y 
parentage ;  but  among  the  white  men  who  married 
colored  women,  the  larger  number  selected  mulattoes. 
This  fact  supports  my  observation  that  for  purposes  of 
prostitution  and  concubinage  women  of  mixed  blood  are 
preferred  to  those  of  the  African  type. 

The  next  two  tables  give  the  same  information  for 
the  state  of  Rhode  Island,  the  city  of  Providence  and 
the  state  of  Connecticut. 

INTER-MARRIAGES  OF  WHITES  AND  COI^ORED  IN  RHODE  ISI^AND. 

1S81-1S93. 


1S81 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 
1 886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 


13  years 


Rhode  Island. 

Providence. 

No  return 

5 

No  return 

5 

6 

I 

2 

3' 

7 

6 

7 

4 

7 

7 

4 

4 

5 

4 

3 

2 

ID 

5 

4 

3 

3 

3 

58^ 

52 

1  In  1RS4  more  mixed  marriages  were  reported  in  Providence  than  in  the  state 
of  Rhode  Island.  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  this  error,  which 
is  ijrobablj'  a  clerical  one  in  favor  of  Providence. 

-  Eleven  years,  51  white  females,  7  white  males. 

INTER-MARRIAGES  IN  CONNECTICUT.— 1883-1S93. 

Year.  No.  of  Cases.  Year.                            No.  of  Cases. 

1883 7                          1889 6 

1884 4                           1890 8 

1885 6                          1891 7 

1886 ^                          1882 6 

1887 3                          1893 4 

188S 8 

II  years,  1883-93,  65  cases.^ 


'Mixed  marriages,  1894,  10. 


200  Aynericayi  Economic  Association. 

In  the  table  for  Rhode  Island,  which  has  been  com- 
bined with  the  data  for  Providence,  a  numerical  as  well 
as  relative  decrease  is  shown.  The  rate  of  intermar- 
riages was  one  to  every  1,012  persons  married,  for  the 
period  1884-88,  and  one  to  every  1,327  for  the  period 
1889-93/ 

For  the  city  of  Providence,  in  which  the  large  majority 
of  such  marriages  in  the  state  of  Rhode  Island  are 
shown  to  occur,  the  rate  of  mixed  marriages  to  total 
of  persons  married  was  one  in  every  579  persons 
married  during  1881-85,  one  in  every  612  during  the 
five  years,  1886-90,  and  one  in  every  1,030  during  the 
period  1891-94.  For  Connecticut  the  ratio  was  one 
to  every  1,951  persons  married  during  1883-88,  and  one 

'  For  Boston,  I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  a  complete  record,  but 
the  table  below,  compiled  from  the  reports  of  the  city  registrar  of 
Boston,  1855-1890,  will  show  that  while  mixed  marriaj^es  increased  to 
the  period  1873-77,  they  have  since  remained  almost  stationary-  in 
numbers,  and  in  proportion  to  the  increase  in  the  population  they 
have  materially  declined.  The  registration  reports  for  very  recent 
years  no  longer  contain  information  on  this  point,  for,  in  the  words  of 
the  registrar,  "it  cannot  possibly  interest  anyone  to  know  how 
many  white  persons  marry  colored  individuals."  It  is  a  fact,  not 
generally  known,  that  a  few  years  ago  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the 
Massachusetts  legislature  by  the  only  colored  member  of  that  body, 
by  which  the  use  of  the  word  "colored"  was  to  be  prohibited  in  all 
public  documents.  Considerable  opposition  was  necessary  to  prevent 
the  passage  of  this  uncalled  for  measure. 

MIXED   MARRIAGES  IN   BOSTON,  MASS.,  1885-1890. 

Total.  Average  Per  Annum. 

1855-1859 50  10. 

1862-1S66 45  9- 

1867-1871 88  17,6 

1873-1877 172  34-4 

1878-1882 121  24.2 

1883-1887 124  24.8 

1890 24  24. 

It  is  not  at  all  improbable,  however,  that  in  some  of  these  cases  the 
woman  were  octoroons,  passing  as  white  when  obtaining  their  mar- 
riage certificate. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   201 

to  every  2,036  in  1889-93.  On  the  basis  of  these  figures, 
therefore,  the  conclusion  seems  fully  warranted  that  in 
this  country  lawful  marriage  between  whites  and  blacks 
is  on  the  decrease. 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  table  below  for  Bermuda, 
the  same  holds  true  for  the  West  Indies. 


MIXED-MARRIAGES  IN  BERMUDA,  W.  I., 


72-1S95.1 


Year. 
1872  , 

1S73  . 
1S74 

1875 

1876  , 

1877 

1878 

1879 

1880 

1S81 

1882 

1883 


No.  of  Cases. 
5 
10 


Year. 

1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1 888 
1889 
1890 
1 891 
1892 

J  893 
1894 
1895 


[2  years 


109 


12  vears  . 


No.  of  Cases. 
2 

I 
6 

3 
8 

4 
4 
4 
8 
9 


58 


1  Compiled  from  the  reports  of  the  registrar  general  of  Bermuda,  W.  I.,  1S72- 
iS95- 

In  Bermuda  mixed  marriages  have  decreased  from  107 
during  the  twelve  years  1872-83,  to  58  during  the 
twelve  years  1883-95.  The  rarity  of  such  marriages  in 
the  West  Indies  is  referred  to  by  Mr.  Froude,  who  cites 
the  case  of  a  Scotchman,  the  keeper  of  the  reservoir  of 
the  water  works  of  Port-of-Spain,  who  had  married  a 
colored  woman,  as  "  a  remarkable  exception  to  an  almost 
universal  rule." 

That  the  whites  of  the  West  Indies  are  leaving  the 
islands  and  that  the  proportion  of  whites  to  colored  is 
gradually  decreasing  is  a  well  known  fact.  It  is,  there- 
fore, no  surprise  that  in  some  of  the  islands  the  mixed 
element  should  gradually  decrease  and  revert  to  the 
original  type,  if  we  accept  the  theory  that  the  mixed 


202  American  Econojnic  Association. 

type  of  the  negro  can  only  maintain  itself  by  constant 
infusion  of  new  blood.  In  Barbadoes  the  proportion  of 
those  of  mixed  blood  has  decreased  from  24.5  per  cent, 
in  1871,  to  24.1  per  cent,  in  1891,  while  at  the  same  time 
the  proportion  of  pure  blacks  has  increased  from  65.5 
per  cent,  in  1871,  to  67.3  per  cent,  in  1891.  The  whites 
decreased  during  the  same  period  from  lo.o  per  cent,  in 
187 1,  to  8.6  per  cent,  in  1891.'  That  is  to  say,  the  loss 
in  white  population  was  made  good  by  the  pure  blooded 
negro  and  not  by  the  mulatto.  Hence,  neither  in  this 
country  nor  in  the  West  Indies  is  there  any  decided 
tendency  towards  the  amalgamation  of  the  two  races  by 
lawful  marriage. 

It  is  an  open  question  whether  there  is  a  decrease  in 
sexual  intercourse  outside  of  matrimony  between  the 
males  of  the  white  and  the  females  of  the  colored  race. 
IVIr.  Bruce  maintains,  and  Mr.  Bryce  seems  to  accept  the 
conclusion,  that  there  is  less  intercourse  between  whites 
and  blacks  now  than  formerly.  It  will  always  be  diffi- 
cult to  prove  this  point.  ]\Iy  own  investigations  indi- 
cate that  there  is  an  immense  amount  of  prostitution  for 
gain  prevailing  among  the  colored  women  in  large  cities. 
]Mr.  Bruce  dealt  entirely  with  the  country  negro  as  he 
knows  him  in  Southside,  Virginia.  In  such  large  cities 
of  Virginia,  as  Richmond,  and  Norfolk,  the  conditions 
in  the  past  cannot  have  been  worse  than  they  are  at 
the  present  time.  Even  in  the  Capitol  City  the 
number  of  illegitimate  births  is  more  than  ten 
times  as  large  for  the  colored  as  for  the  whites.  The 
comparative  percentages  of  illegitimates  in  the  total 
number  of  births  were  as  follows : 

'  Census  of  Barbadoes,  1891. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   203 

ILLEGITIMATE  BIRTHS  IN  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


Percentage  of  illegitimate  atnong  total  births 
White.  Colored. 

1S79 2.3  176 

1SS3 3.6  19.0 

1889      3-6  23.5 

1894 2.6  26.5 

Average  for  16  years   .  2.9  22.5 

Making  an  allowance  for  an  improvement  in  the 
registration  of  births,  it  is  nevertheless  clear  that  there 
is  no  tendency  towards  a  decrease  in  the  illegitimacy, 
but  very  probably  the  reverse  tendency.  As  I  have 
stated  before,  the  larger  amount  of  illicit  intercourse 
prevails  between  mulattoes  and  whites,  and  hence  the 
figures  as  regards  the  rate  of  illegitimacy  are  of  some 
value.  They  are  fully  supported  by  similar  information 
from  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  and  Mobile,  Ala.,  but  want  of 
.space  forbids  my  giving  the  figures  here.  Statistics  for 
the  West  India  Islands  prove  that  there,  too,  immorality, 
as  shown  by  the  rate  of  illegitimate  births,  is  on  the  in- 
crease, and  the  hopeful  view  of  those  who  expected  that 
emancipation  would  speedily  change  the  former  condi- 
tion of  excessive  immorality  and  vice  into  one  of  virtue 
and  chastity  has  not  been  fulfilled.'  On  the  contrary, 
we  are  reliably  informed  that  never  at  any  time  in  the 
past  was  vice  so  flagrant  and  marriage  treated  with  such 
indifference  as  at  the  present  time. 

The  fact  that  lawful  marriage  between  the  races  is 
not  on  the  increase,  so  rare,  indeed,  as  to  have  no  in- 
fluence whatever  on  the  destiny  of  the  race,  does  not, 
therefore,  prove  that  intermixture  through  prostitution 
is  less  frequent  now  than  formerly.  It  is  my  firm  con- 
viction that  unlawful  intercourse  between  the  two  races 

'"  The.  Negro  iu  the  West  Indies"  Publications  of  the  American 
Statistical  Association,  Vol.  IV,  p.  195,  et  seq. 


204  American  Ecotiomtc  Association. 

is  excessively  prevalent  at  the  present  time  in  the  large 
cities  as  well  as  in  the  rural  sections  of  the  country. 

The  question  may  be  asked,  among  what  class  of 
white  women  is  marriage  with  colored  men  most  fre- 
quent, and  what  class  of  white  men  marry  colored 
women  ?  It  is  not  easy  to  reply  to  this  question  in  a 
satisfactory  manner.  So  far  as  I  know,  no  one  has  taken 
the  trouble  to  investigate  this  point  in  a  scientific  way, 
but  perhaps  my  own  investigation,  based  unfortunately 
on  a  very  limited  number  of  cases,  may  prove  a  stimulus 
towards  a  more  elaborate  inquiry. 

I  have  been  able  during  a  number  of  years  to  collect 
information  of  a  fairly  reliable  character  in  regard  to  37 
mixed  relations  of  which  8  were  those  of  white  men 
who  lived  with  colored  women  and  29  those  of  white 
women  who  lived  with  colored  men. 

Of  the  eight  white  men,  four  were  lawfully  married 
while  the  other  four  were  living  openly  in  concubinage. 
Three  of  the  men  were  criminals  or  under  suspicion  of 
being  such ;  one  man  had  killed  another  for  insulting 
remarks  concerning  his  negro  wife,  one  killed  his  mis- 
tress in  a  fit  of  jealousy,  one  was  stabbed  and  horribly 
burned  by  vitrol  by  his  colored  mistress,  one  killed  his 
colored  mistress  by  slow  poison  to  obtain  possession  of 
her  property,  the  ill  gotten  gains  from  a  house  of  ill- 
fame.  The  others  w^ere  more  or  less  outcasts.  One  was 
a  saloon  keeper,  one  had  deserted  his  family  for  his 
negro  mistress,  two  were  men  of  good  family  but  them- 
selves of  bad  reputation. 

Of  the  twenty-nine  women,  only  nineteen  were  law- 
fully married  to  the  colored  men  with  whom  they  were 
living,  while  ten  lived  in  open  concubinage.  So  far  as 
my  information  goes  only  five  of  the  nine  were  of  for- 
eign birth,  one  English,  one  German  and   three  Irish. 


Rlxcc  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   205 

Of  the  nineteen  that  were  married,  four  were  known 
prostitutes,  two  were  guilty  of  bigamy,  four  either  sued 
for  divorce  or  had  deserted  their  husbands.  Five  were 
apparently  of  respectable  parentage  and  living  in  con- 
tent with  their  husbands ;  while  for  four  the  informa- 
tion is  wanting.  Of  the  ten  who  were  not  married, 
eight  were  known  prostitutes,  one  was  insane  and  only 
one  was  known  to  be  the  daughter  of  respectable  parents. 
Of  the  twenty-nine  colored  men  who  married  or  lived 
with  white  women,  only  one,  an  industrious  barber,  was 
known  to  be  of  good  character.  Five  were  of  fair 
repute  ;  nine  were  idlers,  loafers  or  drunkards ;  eleven 
were  of  proven  criminal  and  anti-social  tendencies  ;  while 
for  three  the  character  coiild  not  be  ascertained.  Of  the 
eleven  criminals,  two  were  murderers,  three  were  thieves, 
three  w'ere  guilty  of  bigamy,  one  was  the  keeper  of  a 
house  of  ill-fame,  while  the  last  two  were  arrested  for 
inhuman  cruelty  to  their  own  or  foster  children.  The 
result  of  the  twenty-nine  cases  of  race  mixture  prove 
that  of  the  women,  twelve  were  known  prostitutes,  three 
were  of  ill  repute,  charged  in  addition  with  cruelty  and 
abuse  of  children,  two  were  murdered  by  their  colored 
husbands,  one  committed  suicide,  one  became  insane, 
two  sued  for  divorce,  two  deserted  their  husbands,^  five 

'  111  the  first  of  these  two  cases  the  woman  when  leaving  her  col- 
ored husband  wrote  him  a  letter  from  which  I  give  the  following  ex- 
cerpt :  "  It  is  just  two  }-ears  and  five  months  since  we  were  united  to 
love  and  obey  each  other,  but  time  has  changed  us  and  I  have  not 
the  least  love  for  you  any  more.  I  have  learned  to  love  another  man 
who  wants  to  marry  me  and  I  hope  you  will  give  me  my  freedom  in 
black  and  white.  The  love  I  had  for  you  was  only  a  childish  fancy. 
.  .  .  .  I  am  tired  of  knocking  about  this  hard  world  and  want  to 
get  a  home,  as  I  want  to  travel  up  the  ladder  and  not  fall  down  as  I 
did.  I  am  going  on  twenty  years  old  and  want  to  make  a  true  and 
upright  woman  for  this  man  that  wishes  to  make  me  his  wife  and  give 
me  a  home."  (New  York  Sun,  March  24,  1896.) 
14 


2o6  American  Economic  Association. 

were  apparently  satisfied  with  their  choice,  while  for 
four  the  information  could  not  be  obtained.  Thus  out 
of  twenty-nine  instances  only  five  gave  any  indications 
of  not  having  been  absolute  failures  and  of  the  five  in 
only  one  instance  is  the  proof  clear  that  the  marriage 
was  a  fair  success. 

Comment  on  these  cases  is  hardh-  necessar}-.  They  tend 
to  prove  that  as  a  rule  neither  good  white  men  nor  good 
white  women  marry  colored  persons,  and  that  good 
colored  men  and  women  do  not  marry  white  per- 
sons. The  number  of  cases  is  so  small,  however,  that 
a  definite  conclusion  as  to  the  character  of  persons  inter- 
marrying is  hardly  warranted.  However,  it  would 
seem  that  if  such  marriages  were  a  success,  even  to  a 
limited  extent,  some  evidence  would  be  found  in  a  col- 
lection of  thirty-six  cases.  It  is  my  own  opinion,  based 
on  personal  observation  in  the  cities  of  the  South,  that 
the  individuals  of  both  races  who  intermarry  or  live 
in  concubinage  are  vastly  inferior  to  the  average  types 
of  the  white  and  colored  races  in  the  United  States  ; 
also,  that  the  class  of  white  men  who  have  intercourse 
with  colored  women  are,  as  a  rule,  of  an  inferior  type. 

Hence  the  conclusion  is  unavoidable  that  the  amalga- 
mation of  the  two  races  through  the  channels  of  prosti- 
tution or  concubinage,  as  well  as  through  the  inter- 
marrying of  the  lower  types  of  both  races,  is  contrary  to 
the  interest  of  the  colored  race,  a  positive  hinderance  to 
its  social,  mental  and  moral  development.  But  aside 
from  these  considerations,  important  as  they  are,  the 
physiological  consequences  alone  demand  race  purity 
and  a  stern  reprobation  of  any  infusion  of  white  blood. 
Whatever  the  race  may  have  gained  in  an  intellectual 
way,  which  is  a  matter  of  speculation,  it  has  been  losing 
its  greatest  resources  in   the  struggle  for  life,  a  sound 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   207 

physical  org-anisiii  and  power  of  rapid  reproduction. 
According-  to  Herbert  Spencer  ("sexual  relations  unfav- 
orable to  the  rearing  of  offspring,  in  respect  either  of 
number  or  quality,  must  tend  to  degradation  or  extinc- 
tion." '  j  All  the  facts  thus  far  brought  out  in  this  work 
prove  the  truth  of  this  assertion.  All  the  facts  obtain- 
able which  depict  truthfully  the  present  physical  and 
moral  condition  of  the  colored  race,  prove  that  the  under- 
lying cause  of  the  excessive  mortality  and  diminishing 
rate  of  increase  in  j^opulation  is  a  low  state  of  sexual 
morality,  wholly  unaffected  by  education. 

This  condition  can  be  improved  only  by  the  develop- 
ment of  a  higher  morality.  Amalgamation  with  whites 
by  means  of  lawful  marriage  is  a  remote  contingency, 
which  needs  no  consideration  on  the  part  of  those  who 
concern  themselves  with  the  amelioration  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  colored  race.  The  conclusion  of  Mr.  Tucker 
that,  "  Seventeen  years  since  the  war  have  brought  great 
changes  to  the  colored  race,  great  improvements  in  many 
things  to  some  of  them,  but  no  change  in  morals,."'^  is 
fully  applicable  to  the  race  of  the  present  day,,  thirty ' 
years  after  the  war.  The  fact  that  more  than  one-fourth, 
of  their  children,  are  admitted  to  have  been  boni  out 
of  wedlock,  in  the  Capitol  City  of  the  country, 
where  opportunities  for  moral  advancement  have  been 
better  than  elsewhere,  fully  justifies  the  application  of. 
Mr.  Spencer's  condemnation  of  unchastity  as ,"  tending 
towards  the  production  of  inferior  individuals  and,  if, 
prevailing  widely,  as  a  cause  of  decay  of  society."  Un- 
chastity,  "  conflicting  as  it  does  with  the  establishment 
of  normal  monogamic  relations     ...     is  adverse  to 

'  "  Principles  of  Ethics,"  Part  II,  page  448. 

'^"The  Relations  of  the  Church  to  the  Colored  Race,"  (Jackson, 
Miss.,  1882,)  p.  18. 


2o8  Americayi  Economic  Association. 

those  higher  sentiments  which  prompt  such  relations. 
In  societies  characterized  by  inferior  forms  of  marriage, 
or  by  irregular  connections  there  cannot  develop  to  any 
great  extent  that  powerful  combination  of  feelings  .  . 
affection,  admiration,  sympathy,  .  .  .  which  in  so 
marvelous  a  manner  has  grown  out  of  the  sexual  instinct. 
And  in  the  absence  of  this  complex  passion,  which  mani- 
festly pre-supposes  a  relation  between  one  man  and  one 
woman,  the  supreme  interest  in  life  (the  raising  up  of 
members  of  a  new  generation)  disappears,  and  leaves  be- 
hind relatively  subordinate  interests.  Evidently,  a  pre- 
valent unchastity  severs  the  higher  from  the  lower  com- 
ponents of  the  sexual  relation  :  the  root  may  produce  a 
few  leaves,  but  no  true  flower." ' 
'  "  Inductions  of  Ethics,"  p.  463. 


Chapter  V. 

SOCIAL  CONDITIONS  AND  TENDENCIES. 

Man,  since  we  first  encounter  him,  has  made  ceaseless  progress 
upwards,  and  this  progress  continues  before  our  eyes.  But  it  has  never 
been,  nor  is  it  now,  an  equal  advance  of  the  whole  of  the  race.  Look- 
ing back  we  see  that  the  road  by  which  he  has  come  is  strewn  with 
the  wrecks  of  nations,  races  and  civilizations  that  have  fallen  by  the 
way,  pushed  aside  by  the  operations  of  laws  which  it  takes  no  eye  of 
faith  to  distinguish  at  work  amongst  us  at  the  present  time  as  surely 
and  as  effectively  as  at  any  past  period.^ — Kidd. 

' "  Social  Evolution." 

The  social  tendencies  of  the  colored  race  are  fairly  de- 
picted in  the  statistics  of  religion,  education,  crime, 
pauperism  and  immorality.  The  material  for  a  study 
along  these  lines  is  abundant,  but  much  to  my  regret  I 
shall  have  to  confine  myself  in  this  part  of  my  work  to 
a  very  few  of  the  more  important  social  phenomena. 
Want  of  space  forbids  any  extended  comment  on  the 
various  statistical  tables  which  will  be  given,  but  most  of 
them  will  be  sufficiently  clear  to  need  but  little  textual 
explanation. 

No  exact  data  as  to  the  religious  condition  of  the 
colored  race  at  the  time  of  emancipation  are  in  existence, 
but  sufficient  evidence  is  at  our  command  to  show  that 
the  growth  of  religious  associations  among  the  colored 
people  has  been  very  great  indeed.  In  i860,  according 
to  Mr.  H,  K.  Carroll,  special  agent  of  the  census  on 
church  statistics,  the  great  majority  of  the  colored  popu- 
lation were  either  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  South,  or  Regular  Baptists.  It  is  estimated  that 
there  were  275,000  of  the  former,  and  250,000  of  the 
latter,  a  total  of  over  half  a  million  out  of  a  population 


2IO  Aniericaji  Econo77iic  Association. 

of  4,442,000.*  During  the  thirty  years  following  i860, 
the  membership  of  t'he  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
South  increased  among  the  colored  to  1,190,860,  while 
the  Baptists  increased  to  1,403,559.  The  latter  denom- 
ination therefore  shows  the  larger  increase.  In  1890 
the  census  gave  a  total  of  23,462  organizations,  with  23,770 
churches  and  2,673,977  members,  of  whom  2,594,419 
were  members  of  the  Baptist  or  Methodist  church.  A 
summary  of  the  number  of  members  of  the  various  de- 
nominations is  given  in  the  table  below,  which  has  been 
abstracted  from  the  report  of  Mr.  Carroll. 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  MEMBERSHIP  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  RELIGIOUS 
DENOMINATIONS  OF  THE  COLORED   RACE— 1890. 

Communicants. 

•Aggregate  number  of  communicants 2,673,977 

Regular  Baptists i,34!^,989 

African  Methodist  Episcopal 452,725 

African  Methodist  Episcopal,  Zion 349. 78S 

Methodist  Episcopal 246,249 

Colored  Methodist  Episcopal 129,383 

Regular  Baptists  North 35,221 

Disciples  of  Christ 18,578 

Primitive  Baptists 18,162 

Presbyterian  (Northern) 14,961 

Roman  Catholic 14.5 '7 

Cumberland  Presbyterian 12,956 

All  other  denominations  (17)      .    .  34,448 

This  table  gives  in  detail  the  various  denominations 
in  the  order  of  their  numerical  importance.     The  very 

'According  to  Mr.  Edward  Ingle,  "It  was  estimated,  in  1S54,  that 
one-fourth  of  the  slaves  in  South  Carolina  were  Methodists,  that  one- 
third  in  the  synod  of  South  Carolina  were  blacks,  and  that  more  than 
half  of  the  Baptists  in  Virginia  were  of  the  same  race.  In  1859,  o^ 
468,000  negro  church- members  in  the  South,  215,000  were  classed  as 
Methodists,  and  175,000  as  Baptists.  For  benevolent  purposes  5,000 
slaves  in  South  Carolina  contributed  $15, too  in  1853  ;  and  one-third  of 
the  negro  population  in  Savannah  supported  three  pastors  at  salaries 
ranging  from  $800  to  $r, 000  a  year."— "Southern  Sidelights,"  (New 
York,  1896,)  pp.  273-4. 


J^art:  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   211 

small  number  of  Roman  Catholics  is  surprising,  but  may 
be  due,  in  part  to  the  fact  that  the  larger  number  of  col- 
ored communicants  of  Catholic^churches  would  be  classed 
as  white,  since  few  separate  Catholic  churches  for  colored 
people  exist.  A  statement  in  the  Kansas  City  Catholic 
gives  the  number  of  colored  Catholics  at  about  200,000,  a 
wide  variation  from  the  census  figures.  According  to  an- 
other newspaper  waif,  "  of  the  many.[?]  colored  Catholic 
congregations,  all  with  one  exception  have  white  priests. 
The  exception  is  Chicago."  A  tendency  towards  indi- 
vidual preference  is  shov.-n  in  the  fact  that  265  colored 
persons  were  members  of  the  sect  known  as  "  Old-Two- 
Seed-in-the-Spirit  Predestinarian  Baptists,"  while  211 
were  members  of  the  "Lutheran  Synodical  conference," 
and  94  of  the  "Lutheran  United  Synod  in  the  South." 

The  reports  show  one  communicant  to  every  2.79  of 
the  negro  population,  and  one  to  every  3.04  of  the  white 
population,  indicating  proportionally  a  larger  church 
membership  for  the  colored  than  for  the  white  race. 
The  amount  of  church  property  of  the  Colored  popula- 
tion is  estimated  at  y$26,626,448  for  1890,  most  of  which 
has  of  course  been  accumulated  since  emancipation.  It 
must,  however,  be  taken  into  consideration  that  the  race 
has  been  materially  assisted  by  the  various  religious 
associations,  and  to  a  large  extent  the  vast  sum  just 
given  has  been  the  result  of  generous  aid  on  the  part  of 
the  large  religious  bodies  and  generous  philanthropists 
of  the  white  race. 

The  tendency  would  seem  to  be  rather  favorable  for 
the  church,  although  the  complaint  is  not  infrequently 
made  that  the  young  people  take  less  interest  in  the 
church  than  the  old.  The  Augusta,  Ga.,  Sentmel 
speaks  of  "  the  monstrous  indifference  manifested  by  our 
young  educated  colored  people  to  the  church  and  reli- 


212  American  Economic  Association. 

gion.  .  .  .  Many  come  from  school  wedded  to  fonns 
of  ritualistic  ceremonies  and  are  led  off  from  the  masses, 
believing  that  education  has  placed  them  above  people," 
The  education  of  the  colored  race  has  formed  the  sub- 
ject of  so  many  essays,  speeches  and  discussions  that  it 
might  be  assumed  that  little  remained  to  be  added  to  the 
mass  of  information  and  statistical  data  pertaining  to  the 
subject.  But  this  work  would  be  incomplete  did  I 
neglect  to  bring  forward  some  data  as  to  the  past  and 
present  condition  of  the  race  from  the  educational  stand- 
point. Abundant  as  the  statistics  of  education  are,  they 
fail  in  many  respects  to  afford  a  true  picture  of  the  in- 
tellectual progress  of  a  race.  It  is  more  in  the  effects, 
or  rather  in  the  expected  results  of  education,  that  we 
must  look  for  the  value  of  educational  processes  applied 
to  the  elevation  of  a  race  from  slavery  to  citizenship. 
--_  Previous  to  emancipation  efforts  to  educate  the  colored 
race  were  made  only  in  isolated  instances  and  on  a  small 
scale.  In  most  of  the  southern  states  education  of  slaves 
was  forbidden  by  law.  In  Georgia  a  law  had  been  in 
force  since  1770,  which  read  as  follows  :  "  All  and  every 
person  and  persons  whatsoever,  who  shall  hereafter 
teach,  or  cause  any  slave  or  slaves  to  be  taught  to  write, 
or  read  writing,  or  shall  use  or  employ  a  slave  as  a  scribe 
in  any  manner  of  writing  whatsoever,  every  such  person 
and  persons,  shall  for  every  offence,  forfeit  the  sum  of 
twenty  pounds  sterling.'"  In  1829  another  law  was 
passed  which  substituted  a  fine  and  whipping  and  im- 
prisonment in  the  common  jail  as  punishment  for  the 
education  of  slaves.  Attempts  to  educate  the  slaves  and 
instruct  them  in  religious  principles  had,  however,  been 
made  since  1705  by  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 

'Cobb's  Digest  of  Georgia  laws,  p.  9S1. 


'Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   213 

the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Lands,  and  in  1752  it  was  reported 
in  the  proceedings  of  the  Society  that  "  a  flourishing 
negro  school  was  taught  in  Charleston  by  a  negro  of  the 
society  under  the  inspection  and  direction  of  the  worthy 
rector,  Garden,  by  which  means  many  poor  negroes  were 
taught."  ' 

But  such  exceptions  were  rare  and,  on  the  \\'hole, 
without  effect  on  the  race,  which  at  the  time  of  emanci- 
pation was  almost  wholly  illiterate.  The  first  systematic 
effort  to  educate  the  colored  people  was  made  by  the 
American  Missionary  Association  in  1861,  through  the 
opening  of  a  school  for  '  contrabands '  at  Hampton,  Va. 
By  June,  1S62,  86  teachers  were  at  Avork  in  various  parts 
of  the  South.  In  1863,  General  Grant  placed  the  duty 
of  superintending  the  colored  people  of  the  region  in- 
cluded in  the  army  operations,  in  the  hands  of  Rev. 
John  Eaton,  who  in  1S66  had  over  770,000  of  these  peo- 
ple under  his  charge.  But  in  1865  a  change  was  made 
in  the  educational  work,  and  the  Freedman's  Bureau  was 
organized  under  General  Howard.  The  Bureau  con- 
tinued in  existence  from  January  i,  1865,  to  August  31, 
187 1,  and  over  five  million  dollars,  it  is  estimated,  were  ex- 
pended through  it  for  the  education  of  the  freedmen. 

During  the  past  twenty-five  years  the  education  of  the 
race  has  been  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  state  govern- 

'  Amon*^  the  freed  negroes,  however,  considerable  progress  in  educa. 
tion  had  been  made,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  table  below,  abstracted 
from  the  census  reports  for  1S50  and  i860  and  reprinted  in  Mr.  Ingle's 
"Southern  Sidelights." 

ILLITERACY  AMONG  FREE  NEGRO  ADULTS   20  YEARS  AND  OVER. 
1S50  AND    i860. 


1S50,  South 
North 

1S60,  South 
North 


Population. 

Illiterates. 

Percentage. 

115,231 

61,031 

52.96 

104,289 

33.594 

32.30 

126,803 

62,492 

49-36 

120,303 

33.369 

27-73 

214  American  Economic  Association. 

ments,  all  of  which  provide  to  the  extent  of  their  aljility 
for  primary  and  even  higher  education.  The  efforts  of 
the  sontlicrn  states  have  been  materially  aided  by  money 
and  individual  efforts  on  the  part  of  various  religious  and 
philanthropic  bodies,  of  which  the  vSlater  and  Peabody 
funds  are  the  most  important. 

Some  attempts  have  been  made  to  estimate  the  total 
amount  expended  on  the  education  of  the  negro  since 
emancipation,  and  the  total  is  indeed  a  vast  sum.  It  is 
therefore  a  question  of  importance  to  ascertain  whether 
the  race  has  made  intellectual  progress  in  proportion  to 
this  expenditure,  and  if  so,  whether  the  education  thus 
acquired  has  been  of  benefit  to  the  7'acc  and  not  merely 
\  to  a  few  isolated  individuals. 

In  the  matter  of  attendance  at  the  common  schools 
there  was  a  greater  increase  among  the  negroes  during 
the  last  census  period  than  among  the  whites,  as  the  fol- 
lowing table  will  show. 

NEORO  PUPILS  IX  COMMON  SCHOOLS    IN    THE  UNITED  STATES 
IN  iSSoAND  1890.1 


1880 856,123 

1890 1,416,202 


1  Report  on  Education  and  Institutions,  census  of  1S90,  pp.  50  and  51. 

WHITE  AND  COLORED  PUPILS  IN  COMMON  SCHOOLS  IN    THE   SOUTH- 
ERN STATES.— 18S0-1890. 


Increase 
18S0.  1890.  Per  Cent. 

White  pupils 2,3or,8o4  3409.061  48.10 

Colored  pupils 797,286  1,288.736  6r.64 


PERCENTAGE  OF  POPULATION  ENROLLED    AND   AVERAGE   AT- 
TENDANCE.—iSoo. 


White  pupils  . 
Colored  pupils 


Percentage  of 

Perentage  of 

Enrollment  in 

School 

Population. 

Attendance. 

21. 84 

63.3 

18.67 

62.4 

Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  Ameriean  Negro.   215 

According-  to  the  above  figures  the  increase  in  school 
attendance  has  been  61.64  P^^  cent,  for  the  colored  and 
z^8. 10  per  cent,  for  the  white  race.  While  the  percentage 
of  population  in  schools  is  greater  for  the  whites  by  a 
small  fraction,  the  average  attendance  at  school  is  almost 
the  same  for  both  races. 

The  higher  education  of  the  race  is  provided  for  by  a 
large  number  of  institutions,  denominational  or  non-sec- 
tarian under  state  control,  covering  practically  all  the 
higher  branches  of  learning.  The  number  of  pupils  at- 
tending institutions  of  this  kind  was  22,963  in  1885-6, 
against  34,129  in  1891-2,  showing  a  substantial  increase 
during  the  short  period  of  only  6  years.  The  following 
table  v/ill  show  in  detail  the  various  branches  of  learn- 
ing selected  by  the  more  ambitious  of  the  colored  race. 
The  table  is  incomplete  in  that  it  does  not  show  the 
number  of  colored  students  who  have  been  admitted  to 
the  colleges  and  universities  for  the  whites,  the  number 
of  which,  however,  cannot  be  very  large. 

INSTITUTIONS  FOR  THE   HIGHER   EDUCATION   OF    THE    COLORED 
RACE.^— 1885-86  AND  1S91-92. 

No.  of  Instructors.  No.  of  Pupils. 

18S5-S6  1S91-92.  1SR5-85  1S91-92. 

Normal  schools 281  324  6,207  8,042 

Institutions  for  secondary  education  .      270  396  9,970  16,237 

Universities  and  colleges 238  -  369  5. 119  8,116 

Schools  of  tlifcology- no  65  1,297  577 

Schools  of  medicine  and  dentistry  .  .        22  51  208  457 

School  of  law 16  16  98  119 

Schools  for  the  deaf,  dumb  and  blind,       40  146  139  5S1 

Total 977       1,367         23,038       34,129 

1  Annual  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education,  1S85-S6,  pp.  652-64;  1890-91, 
pp.  1234-37. 

-In  the  1RS6  report  many  students  were  classed  as  theological  students  when 
thejfshould  have  been  reported  a>;  college,  normal  or  secondarj-  students.  Hence 
the  apparent  decrease  is  largely  due  to  the  correction  of  the  erroneous  classifica- 
tion of  1SS6. 


2i6  Amcricaji  Economic  Association. 

By  far,  the  larger  number  of  students  in  institutions 
of  higher  education  select  teaching  as  a  profession,  al- 
though medicine  attracts  quite  a  number.  The  general^ 
opposition  in  the  South  to  white  teachers  in  colored 
schools  has  opened  a  vast  field  for  the  educated  negro,  of 
which  he  has  not  been  slow  to  take  advantage,  even  at 
the  temporary  disadvantage  of  lower  wages  than  those 
paid  to  white  teachers.  The  matter  of  lower  wages  will 
be  dealt  with  in  the  succeeding  part  of  this  work,  on 
the  subject  of  the  economic  tendencies  of  the  race. 

The  few  facts  here  brought  together  show  that  the 
colored  race  has  not  failed  to  take  advantage  of  the  op- 
portunities for  intellectual  advancement  in  the  higher 
as  well  as  in  the  lower  branches  of  learning.  Towards 
the  expense  of  these  great  educational  opportunities  the 
race  has  contributed  only  an  insignificant  fraction.'  The 
larger  part  of  it  was  a  free  gift  to  those  who  cared  to 
take  advantage  of  it,  and  it  is  something  to  the  credit  of 
the  race  that  it  has  not  been  behind  the  white  race  in 
.  patronizing  the  schools  established  for  its  own  use.  But 
it  remains  to  be  shown  whether  the  educational  process 
which  the  race  has  undergone  during  the  past  quarter 
of  a  century  and  the  additional  efforts  and  opportunities 
for  religious  instruction  have  materially  raised  the  race 
from  its  low  social  and  economic  condition  at  the  time 
of  emancipation. 

The  main  object  of  education  is  stated  to  be  "  the 
'eradication  or  modification  of  undesirable  tendencies  and 
their   development   into    favorable    ones."       From    the 

According  to  an  estimate  of  the  Bureau  of  Education,  the  Southern 
States  have  expended  from  75  to  80  million  dollars  for  the  education 
of  negro  children  since  1S76.  Of  this  large  sum.  raised  almost  en- 
tirely by  direct  taxation,  the  negro  has  paid  but  a  very  insignificant 
part. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   217 

standpoint  of  this  definition  we  should  expect  a  gradual 
transformation  of  anti-social  tendencies  into  such  as 
make  for  the  general  well-being  and  happiness  of  the 
individual  and  the  society  of  which  he  is  a  member. 
^  Crime,  pauperism,  and  sexual  immorality  are  without 
question  the  greatest  hindrances  to  social  and  economic 
progress,  and  the  tendencies  of  the  colored  race  in  re- 
spect to  these  phases  of  life  will  deserve  a  more  careful 
investigation  than  has  thus  far  been  accorded  them. 

During  slavery  the  negro  committed  fewer  crimes  than 
the  white  man,  and  only  on  rare  occasions  was  he  guilty 
of  the  more  atrocious  crimes,  such  as  rape  and  murder 
of  white  females.  Whether  from  cowardice  or  respect 
and  devotion  to  his  master,  he  respected  the  persons  of 
his  master's  household,  and  few  indeed  are  the  recorded 
attempts  at  insurrection  and  revolt  on  the  part  of  the 
southern  slave.  Criminal  statistics  of  the  colored  popu- 
lation previous  to  emancipation  are  difficult  to  obtain, 
and  on  account  of  the  abnormal  condition  of  servitude 
would  have  little  value  for  purposes  of  comparisons  with 
the  wholly  different  conditions  of  freedom.^  In  dealing 
with  statistics  of  crime  and  pauperism  I  shall,  therefore, 
have  to  confine  myself  more  especially  to  a  statement  of 
present  conditions,  which,  however,  may  be  contrasted 
with  the  well-known  fact  that  neither  crime  nor  pauper- 
ism prevailed  to  any  extent  among  the  colored  population 
during  slavery. 

According  to  the  census  of  1890,  the  total  number  of 
colored  prisoners  in  the  United  States  was  24,277,  of 

'  Otken,  in  his  work  on  "The  Ills  of  the  South,"  gives  some 
valuable  statistics  of  crime  among  the  free  negrosin  the  northern  states, 
which  show  without  exception  an  excess  of  criminality  on  the  part  of 
the  negro  as  compared  with  the  white  race  in  the  same  sections.  (See 
"The  Ills  of  the  South,"  pp.  228-29.) 


2l8 


American  Economic  Association. 


which  22,305  were  males  and  1,972  were  females.  The 
comparative  figures  for  both  races  are  given  below,  to- 
gether with  the  respective  proportions  of  colored  prison- 
ers to  the  total,  and  the  proportion  of  the  colored  to  total 
population.  This  method  of  comparing  the  number  of 
criminals  with  the  proportion  of  the  colored  to  tlie  total 
population  has  been  employed  throughout  this  part  of 
the  work.  Wherever  possible,  I  give  the  population 
over  fifteen  years  of  age,  but  as  the  census  figures  have 
not  all  been  published,  this  has  not  always  been  possible. 


PRISONERS  IN  THE  UNITED   STATES  IN  1890. 


Aggregate. 

Male. 

Femnle. 

White  ,    . 

.    . 

5S,052 

53.5'9 

4.433 

Colored   . 

.    . 

.    . 

24.277 

22  305 

1,972 

Total    .    . 

•    • 

82,329 

75.924 

6,405 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

Proportion 

of 

lie; 

^ro  criminals  to  total  . 

29-38 

30-79 

Proportion 

of 

lie; 

rro  po; 

pulation  to  total,' 

10.20 

11.09 

1  Population  over 

15  years  of 

age. 

This  table  shows,  that  of  all  the  male  prisoners  in  the 
United  States,  29.38  per  cent,  were  colored,  as  compared 
with  a  proportion  of  10.20  per  cent,  of  negro  males  in 
the  total  male  population.  Of  female  prisoners  30.79 
per  cent,  were  colored,  while  only  11.09  P^''^  cent,  of  the 
total  female  population  were  of  African  descent.  For 
both  sexes  therefore  there  is  about  the  same  excess  of 
negro  criminality.  The  table  which  follows  will  show 
similarly  for  both  races  and  sexes  the  proportions  ac- 
cording to  specified  classes  of  offenses,  thus  bringing  out 
the  specific  criminal  tendencies  of  the  colored  race. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   219 

SUMMARY  OF  OFFENSES  COMMITTED  BY  PRISONERS  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES  IN  iSgo,  ACCORDING  TO   COI,OR  AND  SEX. 


OfTenses  against  the  government   .    . 

"  "  'societ}- 

"  "         "     person 

"  "  "  property  .  .  . 
OfFeiises  of  a  miscellaneous  character 
Aggregate 75,924 


Proportion  of  colored  population  over 
vears  of  age  in  total  (males)    .    . 


Offenses  against  the  government    .    . 

"  "  society 

"  "  person 

"  "  property  .  .  .  . 
Offenses  of  a  miscellaneous  charactei 
Aggregate 


Mal 
Total  No.  of 

Colored 

Colored 

Prisoners. 

Priso'.iers. 

Prisoners. 
Per  Cent. 

',823 

175 

,    9-65 

15.033 

2,577 

17.14 

16,511 

6,30s 

3S.21 

36.3S2 

10,924 

30.03 

6,175 

2,320 

37-95 

75.9^4 
5 

22,305 

,  29.38 
10.20 

Females. 

16 

2 

12.50 

3--^32 

6S3 

17-58 

770 

432 

56.10 

1.325 

655 

49-43 

462 

200 

43.29 

6,405 
5 

1,972 

3079    . 

1 

Proportion  of  colored  population  over  15 

years  of  age  in  total  (females)  .    .    .  11.09     I 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  proportion  of  colored  males 
in  the  total  male  population  is  10.20  per  cent  It  is 
shown  in  this  table  that  of  the  total  number  of  male 
prisoners  charged  with  crimes  against  the  person,  38.21 
per  cent,  were  colored,  and  of  the  female  prisoners,  56.10 
per  cent.  That  is  to  say,  as  regards  the  most  serious  of 
all  crimes  the  number  of  negro  criminals  is  out  of  all 
proportion  to  the  numerical  importance  of  the  race. 
The  same  holds  true  for  all  other  groups,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  crimes  against  the  government, — a  group  which 
however,  furnishes  only  a  comparatively  small  -number 
of  offenders.  ]More  detailed  information  is  given  below, 
where  I  have  arranged  the  particular  offenses  for  the  two 
principal  groups  of  crimes — those  against  tlie  person  and 
against  property. 


220  American  Economic  Association. 

SPECIFIED  OFFENSES  COMMITTED   BY    PRISONERS   IN   THE    UNITED 
STATES  IN   1890. 


Crimes  Against  the  Total  No. 

Person.  of  Prisoners, 

Hoiuici.le 6.95S 

Rape i,3«7 

Abduction 140 

Abortion 25 

Assault 8,001 

Crimes  Against  Property. 

Arson 806 

Burglary 9-647 

Robbery 2,350 

Larceny 7.978 

Grand  larceny  ......  6,411 

Petit  larceny 3.475 

Percentage  of  colored  in  total  pop- 
ulation over  15  yrs.  of  age  (males) 

Crimes  Against  the  Person. 

Homicide 393 

Assault 346 

Crimes  Against  Property. 

Arson So 

Larceny 425 

Grand  larceny 320 

Petit  larceny 266 

Percentage  of  colored  in  total  popula- 
tion over   15  yrs.  of  age  (  females  ) 


Male  Prisoners. 

Colored           (Per  Cent,  of 

Prisoners.            Colored. 

2,5  t  2             \ 

36.10 

567              1 

40. 88 

^^ 

22.86 

1 

8.00 

3.195 

39  93 

372                i 

46.15 

2,710               ( 

28.09 

555 

23.62 

3. '26 

39- '8 

1,774 

27.67 

1.055 

3036 

1-EM.\T.E  Prisoners. 


227 

5776 

1 98 

57-23 

49 

6t.25 

225 

5294 

159 

4969 

99 

37-22 

11.09 


The  table  fully  explains  itself  and  needs  little  com- 
ment. Of  homicides  the  colored  prisoners  formed  36.  i 
per  cent.  For  the  most  atrocious  of  all  crimes,  rape, 
40.88  per  cent,  of  the  prisoners  convicted  were  colored, 
and  for  assault  39.98  per  cent.  The  proportion  of  col- 
ored females  charged  with  homicide  was  even  greater 
than  that  of  males  and  the  same  is  true  for  the  cases  of 
assault.  The  large  proportion  of  colored  among  prison- 
ers charged  with  arson  attests  the  wisdom  of  the  recog- 
nized policy  of  fire  insurance  companies  in  restricting 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  Americayi  Negro.   221 

the  amount  of  fire  insurance  obtainable  by  colored  per- 
.sons.  For  all  crimes  against  property,  the  pro- 
portion of  colored  criminals  far  exceeds  the  propor- 
tion of  colored  in  total  population. 

The  facts  brought  out  in  the.<^e  tables  are  so  significant 
that  the  following  supplementary  tables  for  various 
states  and  cities  may  prove  of  value  in  that  they  confirm 
the  census  figures,  while  of  course  they  were  largely 
derived  from  the  same  official  sources.  The  table  below 
will  show  for  the  state  of  Pennsylvania  the  proportion 
of  colored  inmates  in  the  two  penitentiaries  for  the  years 
1886  and  1894. 

CONVICTS  IN  PENNSYLVANIA  PENITENTIARIES  iSS6  AND  1894.1 


Males. 

Total.^    Colored. 
1886       .    .      1,730          244 
1S94  .    .    .      2,312          384 

Percentage 

of  Col'd. 

14.10 

16.61 

Total. 
41 
52 

Females. 

Colored. 
14 
18 

Percentage 
of  Col'd. 
34.15 
34.61   . 

Percentage  of  col'd  in  total 

population  over  15  years 
of  age,    1890, 

2.23 

2.09 

1  Annual  reports  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Lunacy,  1886  and  1894. 
-  Remaining  on  Sept  30. 

The  table  shows  that  in  Pennsylvania  in  1894,  16.61 
per  cent,  of  the  male  inmates  and  34.61  per  cent,  of 
females  were  colored  ;  yet  in  the  whole  population  of  the 
state  over  15  years  of  age  only  2.23  per  cent,  of  the 
males  and  2.09  per  cent,  of  the  females  were  persons  of 
African  descent,  showing  an  excessively  high  proportion 
of  colored  convicts.  The  figures  are  confirmed  by  the 
statistics  of  arrests  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  for  1888- 
94,  which  show  that  6.04  per  cent,  of  the  males  arrested, 
and  12.17  per  cent,  of  the  females  were  colored  ;  while 
only  3.78  per  cent,  of  the  total  male,  and  5.04  per  cent. 


222  American  Economic  Association. 

of  the  total  female,  population  over  15,  were  colored. 
The  table  below  has  been  furnished  me  by  Robert  J. 
Linden,  superintendent  of  police,  Philadelphia. 

ARRESTS  IN  PHILADELPHIA,  1888-1894. 


Males. 

Per  cetit. 

Females. 

Per  cent. 

Total. 

Colored. 

Colored. 

Total. 

Colored. 

Colored. 

1888 .  . 

.    .    40,305 

2,340 

5.81 

6,594 

570 

8.64 

1889 .  . 

.    .    37.565 

2,074 

552 

5,108 

540 

10.57 

1890  .  . 

.    .    43,605 

2,480 

569 

5,441 

687 

12.62 

1891  .  . 

.    •    47,343 

2,847 

6.01 

5,84^ 

697 

11-93 

IS92 .  . 

.    .    47,143 

2,729 

5-79 

5,801 

702 

12.10 

1893 .  . 

.    .    51,467 

3,239 

6.29 

5.830 

839 

1439 

IS94  .  . 

.    .    55,136 

3,856 

6.99 

6,342 

949 

14.96 

1888-94 . 

.    .  323,665 

19.565 

6.04 

40,957 

4.984 

12  17 

Percentag 

'e  of  colored  in  total  pop 

ulation 

over  15  years 

of  age,    . 

3-89 

425 

It  is  significant  that  in  the  state  at  large  as  well  as  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia  the  proportion  of  arrests  and 
convictions  of  colored  people  has  increased  during  the 
.period  under  observation.  Almost  identical  conditions 
as  regards  the  disproportion  of  colored  criminals  in  the 
.total  population  are  met  with  in  New  Jersey  during  the 
period  1890-94. 

CONVICTS  IN  NEW  JERSEY  PENITENTIARY,  1890-94.1 


1890, 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 


1890-94 


Males. 

Percentage 

Females 

Percentage 

otal. 

Colored. 

of  Col'd. 

Total. 

Colored 

of  Col'd. 

877 

143 

16.30 

35 

12 

34.28 

960 

175 

18.22 

29 

8 

27-58 

918 

167 

1S.19 

29 

9 

3103 

936 

154 

16.45 

32 

12 

37-50 

992 

166 

16.73 

34 

14 

41.17 

4,682 


805 


159 


Percentage  of  col'd  in  total  pop- 
ulation, over  15  years  of  age, 


3-40 


55 


34  59 


3-46 


Annual  reports  of  the  keeper  of  the  N.  J.  State  Prison. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro. 


223 


The  proportion  of  colored  among  the  male  convicts 
during  the  five  years  was  17.19  per  cent,  in  contrast  with 
3.40  per  cent,  of  colored  in  the  total  population  over  fif- 
teen years  of  age.  For  females  the  rate  is  34.59  per  cent., 
against  3.46  per  cent,  of  colored  females  in  the  total  female 
population  over  fifteen  years.  Comparing  the  results  of 
this  table  with  the  results  of  the  table  for  Pennsylvania, 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  proportion  of  colored  male  con- 
victs was  16.61  per  cent,  for  Pennsylvania  and  17.19  per 
cent,  for  New  Jersey ;  for  colored  females,  34.61  per 
cent,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  34.59  per  cent,  in  New  Jersey.' 

In  some  of  the  western  cities,  especially  Chicago,  the 
disproportionate  number  of  colored  criminals  in  the  pop- 
ulation is  even  more  marked.  The  fact  that  in  Chicago 
as  well  as  in  most  of  the  other  large  cities  of  the  country, 
the  colored  people  live  in  the  slum  sections,  must  be 
taken  into  account  in  estimating  the  tendency  of  the 
race  in  the  anti-social  direction.  Bearing  in  mind  the 
fact  so  forcibly  brought  out  in  the  "  Hull  House  Maps 
and  Papers,"  that  in  the  section  of  the  city  where  the 

I  The  increase  in  crime  among  the  colored  population  of  Pennsylr 
vania  during  the  past  fort}'  years  is  shown  for  decades  in  the  following 
table  compiled  from  the  66th  annual  report  of  the  inspectors  of  the 
Eastern  Penitentiary  of  Pennsylvania  at  Philadelphia.  The  table 
also  shows  the  colored  population  of  the  state  at  the  census  year  of 
the  period. 

AVERAGE   NUMBER   OF   CONVICTS   IN   THE  EASTERN  PENITENTIARY 
OF  PENNSYLVANIA.— 1856-95. 

Period.  Colored  Census         Average  No, 

Population.  of  of  Convicts. 

1856-65 56,949  (i860)  79.5 

1866-75 65,249  (1870)  137.0 

1876-85  85,535  (iSSo)  183.9 

1886-95  107,596  (1890)  275.0 

SUMMARY. 

Increase  in  population,   i86-)-90 88.9  per  cent. 

Increase  in  convicts  in  Eastern  Penitentiary,  1856-95  .  245.9  P^r  cent. 


224  American  Economic  Association. 

larger  per  cent  of  the  colored  population  live,  houses 
of  ill-fame  and  dives  of  the  lowest  order  abound,  the 
table  below  will  be  more  fully  understood. 

ARRESTS  IN  THE  CITY  OF  CHICAGO,  1S80-1894. 


Total 

Colored 

Per  cent. 

Percentage  of  Col'd 

Arrests. 

Persons. 

Colored. 

in  Total  Populat'n. 

1880-84.  . 

.    .     165,614 

8,429 

509 

,.29' 

TS85-89.  . 

.    .     230,315 

16.826 

7.31 

1890-94  .  . 

.    .     407,912 

40,120 

9.84 

1.30^ 

1  Census  of  1880. 

2  Census  of  1890. 

With  only  1.29  per  cent,  of  colored  in  the  total  popula- 
tion in  1880,  the  percentage  of  colored  among  the  persons 
arrested  during  the  five  years,  1880-84,  ^^^^  5.09.  This 
rate  increased  to  7.31  per  cent,  during  the  next  five  years, 
and  to  9.84  during  the  period  1890-94.  At  the  same 
time  the  proportion  of  colored  in  total  population  re- 
mained practically  the  same  during  the  decade  1880-90. 

This  increase  agrees  with  the  results  of  the  table  for 
Pennsylvania  and  Philadelphia.  The  proportion  of 
negro  arrests  is,  however,  much  greater  in  Chicago  than 
in  Philadelphia,  due  probably  to  the  more  unfavorable 
congregation  of  the  colored  population  of  Chicago  in  the 
worst  section  of  the  city.  But  it  is  not  all  a  result  of 
ihe  "  conditions  of  life."  The  colored  people  are  not 
alone  in  their  tendency  to  congregate  under  conditions 
of  vice  and  crime.  The  Italians  are  as  densely  crowded, 
if  not  more  so,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  negro 
colony,  and  so  are  other  foreign  nationalities.  But  the 
extent  of  crime  among  the  foreign  elements  is  almost 
always,  excepting  for  the  Irish,  in  proportion  to  the 
population. 

I  have  abstracted  data  from  the  police  reports  of  the 
city  for  1890,  and  compared  the  same  with  the  percent- 
ages of  population  for  the  purpose  of  showing  whether 


1.2 


Race  Traits  and  TeJidcncics  of  the  American  Negro.   225 

the  conditions  of  life,  wliich  are  without  question  more 
severe  for  the  Italians,  Polanders  and  Russians  than  for 
the  negroes,  affect  the  other  nationalities  to  the  same 
extent  as  the  colored  element.  The  table  below  will 
show  that  this  is  not  the  case,  but  that  on  the  contrary, 
the  colored  race  shows  of  all  races  the  most  decided 
tendency  towards  crime  in  the  large  cities. 

percentage;  of  arrests  according  to  nationauty,  and  pro- 
portion OF  EACH  nationality  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION  (1890). 

Percentage  Percentage 

Nationality  or  Race.                                            of  Total  of  Total 

Population.  Arrests. 

Irish 6.4  10.3 

Germans 14.6  ii.i 

Norwegians 2.0  1.3 

Swedes 3.g  2.5 

Russians 0.7  o.S 

Bohemians 2.3 

Polanders 

Italians 

Negroes 1.3  g.S 

SUMMARY. 

Principal  foreign  nationalities.    .    .    .  32.6  30.1 

Negroes 1.3  g.s 

All  others 66.1  60.1 


Of  the  various  nationalities  enumerated  in  this  table, 
the  Irish  and  Italians  sliow  a  percentage  of  arrests  de- 
cidedly above  the  average,  yet  small  when  compared 
with  that  of  the  colored  element.  If  all  the  leading 
foreign  nationalities  are  combined,  we  have  31.1  per 
cent,  of  the  arrests  for  32.6  per  cent,  of  population,  a 
showing  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  foreigner  when  con- 
trasted with  the  negro.  If  it  is  further  taken  into  con- 
sideration that  the  proportion  of  males  of  "  criminal, 
age,"  that  is  over  15  and  under  60,  is  greater  among  some 
of  the  foreign  nationalities  than  among  the  native,  whites. 


2.2  1.7 

0.5  1.2 


226  American  Economic  Association. 

and  negroes,  the  showing  is  even  more  favorable  for  the 
foreigner.  Unfortunately  the  reports  of  the  police  de- 
partment do  not  give  the  ages  of  those  arrested,  hence 
nothing  but  a  crude  comparison  could  be  made. 

In  southern  cities  the  excess  of  negro  criminality  is 
less  marked  on  account  of  the  larger  proportion  of  the 
colored  element  living  in  the  cities.  I  leave  the  method 
employed  in  the  previous  tables  unchanged,  although  a 
different  method  of  comparison  would  bring  out  more 
clearly  the  disproportion  of  crime  to  population  among 
the  colored  in  the  cities  of  the  southern  states.  The 
table  below  is  for  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  covers  the  five 
years,  1890-94. 

ARRESTS   AXD    COMMITTMENTS    TO   THE    WORKHOUSE,  LOUISVILLE. 
KY.,  1S90-1894. 


Arrests  (Males  and  Females). 

Commitments  to  the  Work- 

house (Males  and  Females). 

Per  Ct.  of 

Per  ct.  of 

Years. 

Total.         Colored. 

Colored. 

Total. 

Colored 

Colored. 

1890  . 

7,621             2,862 

37-55 

1,580 

653 

4r.32 

1S91  . 

6.93S            3. 1 13 

44.86 

1,499 

581 

38.75 

1S92  . 

7,133            3.247 

4552 

1,62s 

651 

3998 

1893. 

7,079            3,536 

49-95 

1,431 

524 

36.61 

1894. 

8,390            3.901 

46.49 

2.438 

985 

4040 

1S90-1894  . 

37,161           16,659 

44.83 

8,576 

3.394 

39  58 

Percentage 

of  colored  iu  total 

P 

erceiitage 

of  colored 

population 

17.78 

in   population    .    . 

'7.78 

The  proportion  of  colored  in  the  total  population  is 
17.78  per  cent.,  but  the  percentage  of  the  arrests  was 
44.83  for  the  colored,  and  of  commitments  to  the  work 
house,  39.58  per  cent.  In  Charleston,  S.  C,  where  the 
colored  population  forms  56.39  per  cent,  of  the  total,  the 
proportion  of  colored  among  the  male  criminals  was  65.58 
per  cent.,  and  among  the  female  criminals,  79. 19  per  cent. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  Atnerican  Negro.   227 

ARRESTS  IN  CHARLESTON,  S.  C,    1890-1894. 

Males.  Females. 

Total  Percent.  Total  Per  Cent. 

Arrests.  Colored.  Colored.  Arrests.  Colored.  Colored. 

1S90  .    .    .         2,75s  1,745  63.27  527  434  82.35 

1891  .    .    .        2,752  1,754  63.73  549  437  79-59 

1892  .  .  .  2,961  1,913  64.57  514  3S5  74-90 
1893.  .  .  2,579  1,771  68.67  413  327  79-17 
1894  .    .    .        3,098  2,093  67.55  506  404  79-S4 

1 890- 1 894  .    .    .       14,148        9,276        65.58       2,509         1,987        79.19 
Percentage  of  colored  in  total 
population,  both   sexes  .    .  56.39  56-39 

The  criminal  statistics  of  Charleston  are  given  in 
snfficient  detail  to  enable  me  to  prepare  an  abstract  for 
the  six  years,  1889-94,  showing  the  proportion  of  crimes 
due  to  specified  causes.  The  percentage  of  colored 
criminals  must  not  be  compared  with  that  for  the  country 
at  large,  since  the  proportion  of  negroes  in  the  total  pop- 
ulation is  nearly  four  times  as  great  in  Charleston  as  for 
the  United  States  at  large. 

CAUSES  OF  ARREST  IN   CHARLESTON.— 1889-1S94. 

Percentage 

Crimes  Against  the  Person.  Total.  Colored.  of  Colored. 

Homicide 67  55  82.09 

Rape 18  17  94-45 

Assault 942  765  81.21 

Wife  beating 60  58  96.67 

Crimes  Against  Property. 

Larceny 1,581  1,489  94- 18 

Grand  larceny 351  310  88.32 

Gambling 546  510  93.41 

Percentage  of  colored  in  total  population  56.48 

-"^The  negroes  are  responsible  for  82.09  per  cent,  of  the 
homicides,  while  they  form  but  56.4  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
population.  They  are  responsible  for  practically  all  the 
cases  of  rape,  and  for  other  crimes  against  person  and 
property  largely  out  of  proportion  to  their  number  in 
the  total  population.     As  a  fact  of   possible  interest  I 


228  Americaii  Econojuic  Association. 

have  added  the  arrests  for  wife-beating,  which  were 
ahnost  entirely  confined  to  the  negroes.  Gambling  is 
also  largely  prevalent  among  them,  bnt  the  small  nnm- 
ber  of  arrests  of  whites  on  this  charge  is  no  proof  that 
in  its  less  flagrant  form,  betting  and  private  gambling 
are  not  as  prevalent  among  the  whites. 

All  the  tables  for  various  states  and  cities  confirm  the 
census  data,  and  show  without  exception  that  the  crim- 
inality of  the  negro  exceeds  that  of  any  other  race  of  any 
numerical  importance  in  this  country.  Only  a  very 
searching  inquiry  can  fully  disclose  the  most  important 
phases  of  this  subject,  but  it  has  been  shown  that  in  this 
respect  education  has  utterly  failed  to  raise  the  negro  to 
a  higher  level  of  citizenship,  the  first  duty  of  which  is  to 
obey  the  laws  and  respect  the  lives  and  property  of 
others. 

"^  One  fact,  however,  must  not  be  overlooked.  Owing 
to  his  characteristic  negligence  the  negro  when  guilty 
of  capital  crimes  is  more  easily  apprehended  than  the 
white  criminal.  As  has  been  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Bruce, 
"  The  final  detection  of  the  parties  to  such  crime  is 
always  assured,  not  onl}-  because  there  are  so  many  clues 
that  set  the  officers  upon  the  proper  track,  but  also  be- 
cause the  parties  generally  confess,  in  their  terror,  the 
moment  they  are  accused."  "The  guilty  companions," 
]\Ir.  Bruce  remarks  in  another  place,  "  do  not  attempt  to 
remove  the  various  traces  of  their  crime  ;  the  act  is  com- 
mitted with  awkward  but  relentless  coolness  and  feroci- 
ty, the  booty  is  collected,  and  then  the  spot  is  deserted, 
being  left  with  every  evidence  of  the  fatal  struggle,  in- 
cluding the  corpse  itself,  to  bear  silent  testimony  to  the 
awful  details  of  the  tragedy  of  which  it  has  recently  been 
the  scene."  ^ 

'  "The  Plantation  Negro  as  a  Freeman,"  pp.  S2-83. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negi'o.   220 

This  fact,  however,  does  not  materially  affect  the  pro- 
portion of  colored  to  white  criminality,  and  rather  con- 
firms the  conviction  of  those  who  know  the  race  by  years 
of  personal  contact,  that  while  few  of  the  guilty  escape, 
there  are  few  who  are  convicted  wdien  innocent. 

Some  reference  has  been  made  to  rape  in  the  preced- 
ing tables.  It  was  shown  that  567  colored  persons  were 
in  United  States  prisons  waiting  trial  for  this  crime. 
In  the  city  of  Charleston  during  six  years  eighteen  men 
were  arrested  for  rape,  of  whom  seventeen  were  colored. 
This  would  prove  that  not  all  of  the  negroes  charged 
with  this  crime  have  "  met  with  summary  punishment  " 
at  the  hands  of  an  infuriated  mob. 

The  lynching  of  colored  men  is  usually  for  rape,  but 
occasionally  also  for  murder,  robbery,  miscegenation, 
etc.  The  evidence  on  this  point  is  not  such  as  would 
recommend  itself  to  an  investigation  of  this  kind,  in 
which  official  data  are  the  main  reliance.  In  the  ab- 
sence of  an  official  investigation  or  report  on  the  subject, 
I  have  to  rely  almost  entirely  on  newspaper  evidence. 
During  the  past  few  years  I  have  been  able  to  collect  in- 
formation of  129  attempts  at  lynching,  of  which  83  were 
successful.  By  attempts  I  mean  instances  of  mob  vio- 
lence where  colored  or  white  men  charged  with  rape  or 
other  crimes  were  in  imminent  danger  of  summary  jus- 
tice. Of  the  129  persons  thus  charged,  102  were  colored 
and  27  white  ;  102  of  the  attempts  occurred  in  the  south- 
ern states  and  27  in  the  North  and  West.  The  details 
are  summarized  in  the  table  below  •} 

'  In  addition  I  have  collected  information  in  regard  to  eight  attempts 
at  lynching  by  colored  men.  In  four  cases  the  mob  was  successful. 
The  cause  was  rape  in  three  cases  and  murder  iu  five.     Of  the  persons 


230  American  Economic  Association. 

ANALYSIS  OF  129  ATTEMPTS  AT  LYXCHIXGS  IX  THE  EXITED  STATES, 
1891-1895.1 


Colored. 
Southern  states  . 

Northern  states  . 

White. 
Southern  states  . 
Northern  states  . 

Colored. 
Southern  states  . 
Northern  states  . 

White. 
Southern  states  . 
Northern  states  . 


i_ 


No.  of 

Attempts. 
90 

Successful 
Attempts. 

65 

Per  Cent. 

Succes.'iful, 
72.2 

No. 

of  Persons 
Lynched. 
78 

12 

3 

25.0 

3 

12 
15 

6 
9 

50.0 
60.0 

9 
14 

90 
12 

Causes  of  Lynchings. 
Rape.             Murder. 
5»                    22 
6                      5 

All  Other. 
10 

I 

12 
15 

I 
7 

5 
6 

6 
2 

It  will  be  observed  that  out  of  the  129  attempt.s  at 
lynching,  72  were  for  rape,  and  in  64  of  these  cases  the 
crimes  were  tlie  acts  of  colored  men.  Of  the  other  crimes 
38  were  homicides  and  19  of  a  miscellaneous  character. 
The  result  of  this  investigation  agrees  with  the  statistics 
previously  given,  which  brought  out  the  large  proportion 
of  negroes  connected  with  crimes  against  women  and 
chastity.  With  only  about  10  per  cent,  of  the  population 
over  15  years  of  age,  they  are  responsible  for  40  percent, 
of  the  cases  of  rape  in  tlie  country  at  large. 

^The  fact  is  fairly  proven  that  lynchings  at  the  South 
are  not  the  result  of  race  antipathy,  but  are  due  to  crimes 
which  meet  with  summary  justice  in  cases  of  whites  and 
blacks  alike.  That  the  crime  is  on  the  increase  is  the 
opinion  of  those  most  competent  to  judge.  From  data 
collected  by  the  Chicago  Tribune  which  has  for  years 
made  a  specialty  of  collecting  criminal  statistics  not 
officially  reported,  it  would  seem  that  the  crime  is  in- 
creasing at  an  alarming  rate.     The  table  below  may  be 

whose  lives  were  in  danger  three  were  white  and  five  were  colored. 
Those  actually  h-nched  were  all  colored. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro. 


2X\ 


accepted  as  substantially  correct,  since  few  public  h-ncli- 
ings  fail  to  be  reported  in  the  newspapers,  on  account 
of  the  peculiar  horror  attached  to  such  occurrences. 

JUY^XHINGS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  1S86-1894. 

1886 .' 133 

1887 ~   .     .     .  123 

1S88 '.     .     .  144 

18S9 175 

1S90 125 

1S9I 236 

1893 200 

1894 165I 

1  Niue  months  only. 

Of  course  not  all  of  the  above  cases  were  those  of 
colored  men  lynched  for  rape,  but  the  majority  undoubt- 
edh'  were,  and  the  rate  of  increase  in  lynchings  may  be 
accepted  as  representing  fairly  the  increasing  tendency 
of  colored  men  to  commit  this  most  frightful  of  all 
crimes.  In  the  words  of  Mr.  Bruce,  "  Their  disposition 
to  perpetrate  it  has  increased  in  spite  of  the  quick  and 
summary  punishment  that  always  follows  ;  and  it  will 
be  seen  that  this  disposition  will  grow  in  proportion  as 
that  vague  respect  which  the  blacks  still  entertain  for 
whites  declines,  .  .  .  There  is  something  strangely 
alluring  and  seductive  to  the  negro  in  the  appearance  of 
a  white  woman ;  they  are  roused  and  stimulated  by  its 
foreignness  to  their  experience  of  sexual  pleasures,  and  it 
moves  them  to  gratify  their  lust  at  any  cost  and  in  spite 
of  any  obstacle.  .  .  .  Rape,  indescribably  beastly 
and  loathsome  always,  is  marked,  in  the  instance  of  its 
perpetration  by  the  negro,  by  a  diabolical  persistence 
and  a  malignant  atrocity  of  detail  that  have  no  reflection 
in  the  whole  extent  of  the  natural  history  of  the  most 
beastial    and    ferocious    animals.      He    is    not   content 


232  Avicrican  Econojnic  Associatio7i. 

merely  with  the  consuinination  of  his  purpose,  but  takes 
that  fiendish  delight  in  the  degradation  of  his  victim 
which  he  always  shows  when  he  can  reek  his  vengeance 
upon  one  whom  he  has  hitherto  been  compelled  to 
fear.  .  .  .  His  invariable  impulse  after  the  ac- 
complishment of  his  purpose,  is  to  murder  his  victim, 
that  being  the  only  means  suggested  to  his  mind  of 
escaping  the  consequence  of  the  act,  and  this  impulse  is 
carried  into  effect  with  the  utmost  barbarity,  unless  he 
is  accidentally  interrupted  and  frightened  off."  ' 

Mr.  Bruce,  from  whose  admirable  little  work  on  the 
"  Plantation  Negro "  the  above  quotations  are  taken, 
had  exceptional  opportunities  for  observation,  and  few 
writers  on  the  negro  have  so  thoroughly  grasped  the  in- 
tricate details  of  their  subject.  In  all  the  endless  dis- 
cussion on  the  subject  of  lynching,  few  of  those  who 
write  in  bitterness  against  the  South  and  its  people, 
take  into  accoiint  the  peculiar  horror  of  the  crime,  a 
horror  which  can  only  be  understood  by  those  who,  after 
years  of  residence  in  the  South,  are  thoroughly  familiar 
with  local  conditions.  The  true  sentiment  of  the  south- 
ern people  is  perhaps  nowhere  better  expressed  than  in 
the  following  passage  of  an  editorial  in  the  Atlanta  Con- 
stit7Uio7i. 

We  advise  our  northern  contemporaries  to  deal  as  gently  as  they 
can  with  the  manifestations  of  human  nature  which  take  place  in  the 
South  and  are  duplicated  at  the  North  whenever  the  opportunity  offers. 
That  they  are  deplorable  is  not  to  be  denied.  But  the  cause  that  leads 
to  them — the  situation  out  of  which  they  are  developed — is  more  de- 
plorable still.  It  is  no  light  thing,  may  it  please  your  honor  and 
gentlemen  of  the  jury,  for  the  women  and  girls  of  the  whole  country 
side  to  live  in  practically  a  state  of  seige— to  be  afraid  to  venture  to  a 
neighbor's  or  a  school  house  lest  some  black  beast  shall  leSp  from  the 
bushes  and  give  them  over  to  a  fate  worse  than  death.  Let  us  think 
of  these  things  when  we  become  critical  enough  to  take  on  judicial 
airs. 

'  Bruce,  "  The  Plantation  Negro  as  a  Freeman." 


Race  Traits  and  Taidcncics  of  the  American  Negro.    233 

Attempts  to  stop  lyiichiiigs  have  been  made  in  many' 
of  the  sonthern  states  where  snch  crimes  have  become 
only  too  frequent.  In  South  Carolina  the  new  constitu- 
tion of  that  state  provides  that  "  In  all  cases  of  lynching 
where  death  ensues,  the  county  where  such  lynching 
takes  place  shall,  without  regard  to  the  conduct  of  the 
officers,  be  liable  in  exemplary  damages  of  not  less  than 
$2,000  to  the  legal  representative  of  the  person  lynched." 
In  the  Virginia  Senate  a  bill  has  been  introduced  which 
provides  that  "  Whenever  a  lynching  occurs  in  any 
county,  city,  or  town,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Super- 
visors or  the  Council  of  the  city  or  town  as  the  case 
may  be,  to  lay  a  tax  levy  of  $200  for  every  thousand 
inhabitants,  which  is  to  be  collected  as  other  county 
taxes  are  collected,  the  proceeds  to  be  paid  into  the 
treasury  by  the  treasurer  of  the  county."  In  Missis- 
sippi the  attorney  general  in  his  last  annual  report 
makes  commendations  of  the  same  character  for  the 
suppression  of  the  crime. 

At  various  times  the  militia  of  the  state  has  been 
called  out  and  large  expenses  have  been  incurred  to  pre- 
vent lynchings  of  men  of  whose  guilt  there  was  not  the 
slightest  doubt.  Yet  there  has  been  no  abatement  of  the 
crime  and  no  decrease  in  the  number  of  lynchings,  the 
due  consequence  of  the  crime,  in  spite  of  all  that  has 
been  done  and  said  and  written  about  the  subject,  and  / 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  all  over  the  South  the  best  peo-  \ 
pie  are  fully  agreed  that  'lynchings  must  be  stopped.'         , 

Lynchings  rarely  occur  more  than  once  in  the  same    \ 
community  or  section,  but  they  are  met  with  in  all  sec-    > 
tions  of  the  South,  especially  in  remote  districts.     In 
Florida,  for  instance,  wdiere  in  1895,  12  negroes  were  re- 
ported as  having  been  lynched,  the  crime  of  rape  has 
been  most  frequently  committed  by  negroes  from   the 


234  American  Economic  AssociatioJi: 

phosphate  mines,  which  seem  to  have  attracted  the 
vagrant  elements  from  South  Carolina  and  other  adjoin- 
ing states.  The  commission  of  the  crime  seems  to  be 
largely  confined  to  this  vagrant  and  worthless  element, 
but  the  race  as  a  whole  suffers  greatly  from  the  result- 
ing antipathy  of  the  whites. 

Mr.  Aloncure  D.  Conway,  agent  for  an  English  commit- 
tee, has  expressed  the  opinion  that  "  In  some  of  the  south- 
ern states  the  crime  seems  nearly  to  have  disappeared,  and 
the  curious  phenomena  has  appeared  that  in  these  orderly 
states  such  as  Virginia,  Maryland  and  South  Carolina, 
with  their  large  negro  population,  no  suggestion  is  ever 
heard  of  the  negro  propensity  to  rape."  This  statement 
is  not  at  all  warranted  by  the  facts  ;  for  not  only  have 
lynchings  increased  in. these  three  states  from  7  in  1891 
to  12  in  1895,  but  the  police  statistics  of  Charleston 
alone  show  that  in  six  years  18  colored  men  were  ar- 
rested for  rape,  proving  that  there  is  neither  an  absence 
of  propensity  to  rape,  nor  a  decrease  in  the  number  of 
lynchings  in  that  state. 

The  crime  of  lynching  is  the  effect  of  a  cause,  the 
removal  of  which  lies  in  the  power  of  the  colored  race. 
Rape  is  only  one  of  the  many  manifestations  of  an  in- 
creasing tendency  on  the  part  of  the  negro  to  miscon- 
strue personal  freedom  into  personal  license,  and  this 
tendency,  persisted  in,  must  tend  towards  creating  a  still 
wider  separation  of  the  races.  The  fact  that  lynchings 
should  be  frequent  is  a  natural  consequence  of  a  social 
and  political  condition  under  which  the  frequent  com- 
mission of  the  crime  of  rape  is  possible.  Until  the 
negro  learns  to  respect  life,  property,  and  chastity,  until 
he  learns  to  believe  in  the  value  of  a  personal  morality 
operating  in  his  everyday  life,  the  criminal  tendencies 
brought    out    in    the    foregoing    tables    will    increase. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   235 

and  by    so  much    the   social    and    economic   efficiency 
of  the  race  will  be  decreased. 

The  low  state  of  sexual  morality  among  the  colored 
population  is  a  fact  which,  it  would  seem,  has  been 
inadequately  treated  by  those  who  have  written  on  the 
subject  of  negro  morality.  In  this  work  reference  has 
been  made  to  the  subject  in  the  statistics  of  syphilis  and 
other  venereal  diseases  ;  but  the  following  table  of  ille- 
gitimate births  in  Washington  will  show  more  emphat- 
ically the  tendency  of  the  race  towards  a  low  level  of 
sexual  immorality  and  vice. 

ILLEGITIMACY   IN    WASHINGTON,    D.  C,    1879-1894.1 
(Percentage  of  illegitimate  in  total  number  of  births.) 

White.  Colored 

1879 2.32  17.60 

1880 2.43  19.02 

1881 2.33  19.42 

1882 2  09  19.73 

18S3 3-U  2095 

1884 3.60  J9.02 

1885 3.00  22.88 

1886 328  22.86 

1887 3  34  21.27 

1888 3.49  22.  iS 

1889 3.59  23.45 

1890 3-34  26.50 

1891 2.90  25.12 

1892 2.53  26.40 

1893 2.82  27.00 

1894 2.56  26  46 

Average  1879-94   .  .  .       2.92  22.49 

SCMM.\RY   1S79-94. 

Total  birth.s,  1S79-94 34.803  27,211 

Illegitimate  births,  1S79-94  ....  1,032  6,iS6 

Percentage  illegitimate  births  ...  2.92  22.49 

1  Report  of  the  health  office  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  1S94,  page  152. 

The  average  rate  of  illegitimacy  is  22.49  P^^  cent,  for 
the  colored  population  and  2.92  per  cent,  for  the  whites. 


236  American  Economic  Association. 

The  rate  of  increase  for  the  earlier  years  of  the  period 
1879-94  is  affected  by  a  more  perfect  registration  during 
the  latter  part  of  the  period ;  but  even  if  allowance  is 
made  for  this  probable  element  of  error,  and  we  assume 
that  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  period  the  same  amount  of 
unchastity  prevailed  as  at  present,  the  results  are  scarcely 
less  significant.  That  under  a  civilized  government 
one-fourth  of  the  children  of  one  race  should  bear  "  the 
bar  sinister  "  is  a  fact  which  is  fraught  with  far-reaching 
consequences. 

rl  have  given  the  statistics  of  the  general  progress  of 
the  race  in  religion  and  education  for  the  country  at 
large,  and  have  shown  that  in  church  and  school  the 
number  of  attending  members  or  pupils  is  constantly  in- 
creasing ;  but  in  the  statistics  of  crime  and  the  data  of 
illegitimacy  the  proof  is  furnished  that  neither  religion 
nor  education  has  influenced  to  an  appreciable  degree  the 
moral  progress  of  the  race.  Whatever  benefit  the  indi- 
vidual colored  man  may  have  gained  from  the  extension 
of  religious  worship  and  educational  processes,  the  race 
as  a  w^hole  has  gone  backwards  rather  than  forwards. 
While  it  is  not  possible  to  prove  by  statistics  that  the 
moral  condition  of  the  slaves  was  exceptionally  good,  all 
the  data  at  my  command  show  that  physically  the  race 
was  superior  to  the  present  generation,  and  no  physical 
health  is  possible  without  a  fair  degree  of  sexual  mor- 
ality. It  is  true  that  the  sexual  relations  were  as  lax  as 
they  are  now,  but  they  were  lax  in  the  nature  of  con- 
cubinage or  irregular  sexual  intercourse,  in  which  affec- 
tion played  at  least  a  small  if  not  an  important  part.  In 
the  irregular  sexual  relations  of  the  present  day  prosti- 
tution for  gain  is  the  prevailing  rule,  and  one  of  the 
determining  causes  of  the  inordinate  mortality  and  high 
degree  of  criminality. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.  237 

In  Washington  the  colored  race  has  had  exceptional 
educational,  religions  and  social  opportunities.  Even 
in  an  economic  sense  the  race  is  probably  better  off 
there  than  anywhere  else.  According  to  the  census  there 
were  in  Washington  in  1890,  77  churches  for  colored 
people,  valued  at  $1,182,650,  with  22,965  communicants. 
There  were  250  colored  teachers  in  charge  of  13,332 
colored  pupils ;  but  there  were  also  during  the  year  483 
young  mothers,  whom  neither  education  nor  religion  had 
restrained  from  open  violation  of  the  moral  law. 

In  Delaware  the  low  moral  condition  of  the  colored 
population  in  this  respect,  is  perhaps  best  illustrated  by 
the  following  newspaper  report,  clipped  from  the  Balti- 
more American  of  recent  date. 

A  wholesale  marriage  ceremony  was  performed  in  Odd  Fellows' 
Hall  at  Hockessin,  a  few  miles  from  Wilmington,  Del.,  on  Sun- 
day afternoon.  Right  couples  of  colored  people  were  married 
simultaneously  by  the  Rev.  William  Jason,  president  of  the  State  Col- 
lege for  Colored  Students.  The  ceremony  was  witnessed  by  more 
than  three  hundred  people.  Explaining  the  circumstances  which 
brought  about  the  wedding,  Mr.  Jason  said  :  "God  must  know  that 
when  I  went  among  these  people  and  tried  to  bring  them  to  God,  they 
were  a  bad  lot.  At  first  I  did  not  get  much  encouragement,  but  after 
I  had  labored  with  them  for  several  months,  I  saw  that  even  the 
hardest  of  them  were  touched.  In  nearly  every  instance  where  a  man 
and  woman  were  living  together,  no  marriage  ceremony  had  been 
performed  between  them.  I  told  them  that  it  was  wrong  and  sinful.; 
that  it  was  a  violation  of  the  civil  law  and  an  offence  against  divine 
law.  That's  why  I  performed  this  wholesale  marriage.  At  first  they 
objected,  but  when  one  couple  who  had  been  living  together  for  four 
years  consented  to  let  me  marry  them,  the  others  gave  in  and  I  hope 
in  time  that  all  the  rest  will  follow  in  their  footsteps." 

For  other  states  similar  information  could  be  given, 
but  it  would  be  merely  cumulative  evidence.  The  con- 
dition is  everywhere  the  same.  In  Mobile  and  Knox- 
ville,  as  well  as  in  Washington,  the  rate  of  illegitimacy  is 
about  25  per  cent,  of  the  total  births,  against  an  average 
of  about  2.5  per  cent,  for  the  whites.  The  figures  here 
16 


238  American  Economic  Association. 

given  are  only  those  of  births  admitted  \.o  be  illegitimate. 
The  actual  number  if  known  would  of  course,  give  a 
much  higher  rate,  but  the  margin  of  error  is  probably 
about  the  same  for  both  races.  The  facts  brought  out 
show  a  state  of  immorality  such  as  does  not  often  pre- 
vail in  a  community  claiming  even  a  moderate  degree  of 
civilization. 

What  is  true  of  the  negro  in  the  United  States  is  even 
more  true  of  the  colored  population  in  the  West  Indies. 
I  have  elsewhere  dealt  fully  with  the  social  statistics  of 
the  negro  in  the  West  Indies,  and  need  here  to  give  only 
a  few  data  to  round  off  this  picture  of  the  lowest  phase 
of  the  social  life  of  the  American  negro.' 
"^  It  was  a  favorite  argument  of  the  opponents  of  slavery 
that  freedom,  education  and  citizenship  would  elevate 
the  negro  to  the  level  of  the  white  in  a  generation  or 
two.  One  writer  in  a  report  to  the  Anti-Slavery  Society, 
which  was  widely  circulated,  made  use  of  the  following 
language  in  regard  to  the  effects  of  the  emancipation  of 
the  slaves  in  the  West  Indies:  "The  abolition  of 
slavery  gave  the  death  blow  to  open  vice.  Immediate 
emancipation  instead  of  opening  the  floodgates  was  the 
only  power  strong  enough  to  shut  them  down.  Those 
great  controllers  of  moral  action,  self  respect,  attachment 
to  law  and  veneration  of  God,  which  slavery  destroyed, 
freedom  has  resuscitated." 

The  West  India  slaves  were  completely  emancipated  in 
1838.  About  30  years  later  The  American  Missionary  in 
commenting  upofi  the  people  of  Jamaica  used  the  follow- 
ing language  :  "  A  man  may  be  a  drunkard,  a  liar,  a  Sab- 
bath breaker,  a  profane  man,  a  fornicator,  an  adulterer, 
and   such   like  and    be  known    to  be  such,  and  go  to 

^"The  Negro  in  the  West  Indies,"  Quarterly  Publicatioiis  of  the 
American  Statistical  Associatio7i,  Vol.  3. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  Americaji  Negro.   239 

chapel  and  hold  up  his  head  there,  and  feel  no  disgrace 
from  those  things,  because  they  are  so  common  as  to 
create  a  public  sentiment  in  his  favor."  ^  About  25 
years  later  James  Anthony  Froude  wrote  of  the  negro  in 
the  West  Indies  in  the  folUowing  severe  terms  : 

"Morals  in  the  technical  sense  they  have  none,  but  they  cannot 
be  said  to  sin,  because  they  have  no  knowledge  of  a  law  and  there- 
fore cannot  commit  a  breach  of  the  law.  They  are  naked  and  not 
ashamed.  They  are  married,  as  they  call  it,  but  not  parsoned.  The 
woman  prefers  a  looser  tie  that  she  may  be  able  to  leave  the  man  if 
he  treat  her  unkindly.  A  missionary  told  me  that  a  marriage  con- 
nection rarely  turned  out  well  which  begins  with  legal  marriage.  The 
system  is  strange,  but  it  answers.  There  is  evil,  but  there  is  not  the 
demoralizing  effect  of  evil,  they  sin  but  they  sin  only  as  animals  sin, 
without  shame  because  there  is  no  sense  of  wrong  doing  ;  they  eat  the 
forbidden  fruit,  but  it  brings  with  it  no  knowledge  of  the  difference 
between  good  and  evil — in  fact  these  poor  children  of  darkness  have 
escaped  the  consequences  of  the  fall,  and  must  come  of  another  stock 
after  all. "  '•' 

The  statements  of  the  various  writers  on  the  social 
condition,  of  the  West  India  negro  are  supported  by  re- 
liable statistical  evidence.  The  table  below,  compiled 
from,  the  annual  reports  of  the  registrar-general  of 
Jamaica  bears  mute  testimony  on  this  point. 

ILLEGITIMACY  AND  ILLITERACY  IN  JAMACIA. 

Percentage  of  Females 
Percentage  of  Signing  Marriage 

Illegitimate  Register  With 

Births.  Mark. 

1880-81 57.7  66.8 

1881-82 58.2  67.7 

18S2-83 58.9  68.6 

1883-84 58.9  68.8 

1884-85 59-9  67.7 

1885-86 59.6  64.0 

18S6-87 59.8  64.8 

1887-88 60.6  64.8 

18S8-89 60.5  65.5 

18S9-90 61.7  64.9 

1890-91 60.7  63.7 

1891-92 60.6  61.6 

1892-93 60.1  60.0 

1893-94 60.6  59.4 

1894-95 60.8  57.1 

^  Seaman,  "  Progress  of  Nations,"  p.  518. 

-  "  English  in  the  West  Indies,"  pp.  49-50.     (The  italics  are  mine.) 


240  American  Economic  Association. 

After  fifty  years  of  educational  and  religious  influence 
under  conditions  of  freedon,  sixty  out  of  every  hundred 
births  are  acknowledged  to  be  illegitimate.'  On  the 
other  hand,  education  has  progressed  at  such  a  rate  that 
in  the  year  1894  only  40  per  cent,  of  the  women  who 
married  could  not  write  their  own  names.  The 
progress  of  education  is  shown  by  the  table  below  : 

PROPORTION  OF  POPULATION  OF  JAMAICA  OVER  FIVE  YEARS  OF  AGE 
WHO  ARE  ABLE  TO  READ  AND  WRITE.' 

Per  Cent. 

1861 31-3 

1871 350 

1881 45-7 

1891 52v5 

'"The  Negro  in  the  West  Indies."  Publications  of  the  American  Statistical  As- 
sociation. 

One  of  the  most  recent  reports  on  the  condition  of 
the  negro  in  Jamaica  was  published  in  the  New  York 
JEvening  Post  in  November,  1895,  and  contains  the  fol- 

'Oii  this  point  the  registrar  general,  Mr.  S.  P.  Smeeton,  in  his  an- 
nual report  for  1895,  writes  as  follows:  "The  subject,  (illegitimacy) 
is  not  a  savour}-  one,  and  when  discussed  '  time  '  and  '  education  '  are 
generally  mentioned  as  the  remedies  to  be  relied  upon.  It  may,  how- 
ever, be  pointed  out  that  the  published  registration  figures  for  17 
3'ears  past  show  no  improvement  in  the  matter,  and  that  an  ever  in- 
creasing educational  force  has  been  for  that  same  period  in  operatiofi 
without,  apparently,  any  sign  of  cleansing  away  this  social  cancer. 
From  time  to  time  great  and  praiseworthy  interest  is  shown  for  the 
development  of  the  material  concerns  of  the  island  and  extensive  or- 
ganizations are  formed  for  the  benefit  of  these,  but  is  there  any  island 
product  of  more  value,  from  any  point  of  view,  than  the  population 
one  ?  What  are  all  others  if  this  be  uncared  for,  and  60  per  cent,  of 
it  be  allowed,  as  we  say  in  Jamaica,  to  '  run  into  bush  '  ?  I  have  in  a 
previous  report  quoted  the  w-ords  of  Cardinal  Manning  :  '  On  the  do- 
mestic life  of  a  people  the  whole  political  order  of  human  society  re- 
poses. If  the  foundation  be  ruined  what  will  be  the  superstructure  ?  ' 
and  they  will  bear  repetition  here,  for,  while  it  is  beyond  question  that 
the  people  of  Jamaica  are  capable  of  reaching  a  high  state  of  civili- 
zation, it  is  equally  certain  that  this  goal  cannot  be  reached  so  long  as 
the  very  root  element  of  social  progress  is  lacking,  viz.,  a  morally 
healthy  family  life.  "     (The  italics  are  mine. ) 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  A?nerica?i  Negro.  241 

lowing :  "  We  have  seen  such  sights  as  one  of  their 
naked  voodoo  priests  standing  in  the  middle  of  a  stream 
holding  a  rod  in  one  hand  and  the  other  outstretched 
over  the  water  apparently  without  moving  a  muscle  for 
upwards  of  three  hours,  while  thousands  of  naked  men 
and  women  crowded  into  the  stream  below  him.  But 
this  is  tame  compared  to  their  horrible  midnight  orgies 
carried  on  in  their  mountain  homes,  which  the  white 
man  is  not  allowed  to  witness.  We  can  only  form  an 
idea  of  their  barbarity  from  the  rumors  that  come  to  us 
from  time  to  time  or  the  reports  of  some  of  their  more 
enlightened  brethren." 

The  same  condition  is  met  with  in  other  islands : 
everywhere  we  find  the  evidence  of  grossest  immorality, 
and  nowhere  do  we  meet  with  the  anticipated  effects  of 
education  and  political  freedom.  The  main  purpose  of 
education,  "  the  eradication  or  modification  of  un- 
desirable tendencies  and  the  development  of  favorable 
ones,"  has,  according  to  these  facts,  not  been  accom- 
plished. After  nearly  sixty  years  of  freedom  in  the 
West  Indies  and  after  thirty  years  of  freedom  in  this 
country,  during  which  the  most  elaborate  efforts  have 
been  made  to  improve  the  moral  and  social  condition  of 
the  race,  we  find  that  its  physical  and  moral  tendency 
is  downwards.  A  low  degree  of  social  and  economic  effi- 
ciency must  result  from  such  anti-social  conditions.  A 
race  living  under  such  conditions  can  hardly  be  expected 
to  develop  the  essential  virtue  of  Indo-Germanic  races, 
thrift.  Pauperism  with  all  its  consequences  is  the  nat- 
ural and  inevitable  result  of  crime  and  immorality. 
/  Thrift  is  the  result  of  self  hel^  It  is  developed 
under  the  most  adverse  circumstances  and  once  ac- 
quired forms  the  most  persistent  virtue  of  a  race.  It  is 
the  result  of  self-denial  and  self-sacrifice,  developed  in 


242  American  Economic  Association. 

races  only  after  a  struggle  against  adverse  conditions 
which  would  have  reduced  a  race  less  sturdy  to  barbar- 
ism and  savagery. 

All  attempts  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  lower 
races  in  which  the  vital  element  of  self-help  is  ignored, 
must  in  the  end,  prove  a  failure.  A  system  of  philan- 
thropy that  is  based  on  the  notion  that  easy  conditions 
of  life  are  essential  to  human  development  must  fail  in 
its  effort,  honorable  and  unselfish  as  the  motives  maybe. 
No  system  of  state  socialism  will  benefit  a  race^  much 
as  it  may  occasionally  prove  of  benefit  to  the  individual. 

The  violation  of  this  fundamental  principle  of 
economics  on  the  part  of  the  state  or  an  association  of 
individuals,  or  individuals  working  alone  for  the 
amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  lower  classes  must 
in  the  end  produce  the  very  effects  and  tendencies  shown 
to  be  in  operation  among  the  colored  population, 
namely,  an  increasing  mortality,  decreasing  vitality,  and 
increasing  immorality,  criminality  and  pauperism. 
Such,  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Francis  A.  Walker,  "  may  be 
the  effects  of  foolish  laws.  The  legislator  [or  the  phil- 
anthropist and  social  reformer,  I  would  add]  may  think  it 
hard  that  his  power  for  good  is  so  closely  restricted  ;  but 
he  has  no  reason  to  complain  of  any  limits  upon  his  power 
for  evil.  On  the  contrary,  it  would  seem  that  there  is  no 
race  of  men,  whom  a  few  laws  respecting  industry, 
trade  and  finance  passed  ...  in  defiance  of  economic 
principles  could  not  in  half  a  generation  transform  into 
beasts."^ 

This  principle  is  as  applicable  to  general  social  con- 
ditions as  to  those  which  fall  strictly  within  the  domain  of 
economics.  Even  political  liberties,  granted  with  dis- 
regard    for    natural    inequalities  or  stages    of    human 

'  "Political  Ecouonu', "  p.  362. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negi'O.   243 

progress,  must  affect  injuriously,  in  the  end,  the  race 
on  which  they  were  thus  conferred.  "  Self-govern- 
ment," writes  Mr.  Fronde,  "  is  a  beautiful  subject  for 
oratorical  declamation.  If  the  facts  corresponded  to  the 
theory  and  if  the  possession  of  a  vote  produced  the  ele- 
vating effects  upon  the  character  which  are  so  noisily- 
insisted  upon,  it  would  be  the  welcome  panacea  for 
political  and  social  disorder.  Unfortunately  the  fact 
does  not  correspond  to  the  theory.  The  possession  of  a 
vote  never  improved  the  character  of  any  human  being 
and  never  will."  • 

We  may,  in  conclusion,  consider  the  facts  relating  to 
pauperism  and  general  dependency.  The  table  below 
will  show  for  ten  northern  and  ten  southern  states  the 
number  of  negro  paupers  per  million  of  population,  as 
compared  with  the  white  population.  The  table  also 
shows  the  average  age  according  to  sex. 

WHITE  AND   COLORED    PAUPERS   IN   ALMSHOUSES   IN    1S90,  PER    MIL- 
LION   OF  POPULATION.! 

Southern  States. 

Whites.  Colored. 

Virginia i,i'7  I1658  Colored  in  excess 

North  Carolina 886  992                     "  " 

South  Carolina 794  306  Whites  " 

Georgia 545  42S                    <<  « 

Florida 76  42                     "  " 

Kentucky 7S8  1,208  Colored  " 

Tennessee 756  1,239                     "  " 

Alabama 386  443                     "  " 

Mississippi 376  388                    "  " 

Louisiana 204  14  Whites  " 

Northern  States. 

Massachusetts 2,097  3>352  Colored  in  excess 

New  York 1,696  3,045                     "  " 

New  Jersey 1,846  2,895                    "  " 

Pennsylvania 1,604  3.599                    "  " 

Ohio 1,968  3,931                     "  " 

Illinois 1,406  1,659                    "  " 

Indiana 1,316  2,212                    "  " 

Kansas 372  1,603                    "  " 

Missouri 834  1,785                    "  " 

Michigan 906  1,809                    "  " 

1  Census  report  on  Crime,  Pauperism  and  Benevolence.     Part  II,  pp.  654-658. 
'  "  The  English  in  the  West  Indies,"  p.  166. 


244  American  Economic  Association. 

AVERAGE  AGES  OF  WHITE  AND  COLORED  PAUPERS  IN  ALMSHOUSES 
IN  iSgo.i 

Males.  Females. 

Southern  States.  White.  Colored.  White.  Colored. 

Virginia 44.08  51.28  43- 30  46.11 

North  Carolina  ....  49-28  48.06  48.22  48.30 

South  Carolina  ....  52.40  4S.77  54.45  58.75 

Georgia 52.22  58.85  51.60  54.36 

Florida 55.11  39.75  45.20  7767 

Kentucky 49.05  44.07  40.46  41.82 

Tennessee 46.40  45-72  41-53  46.81 

Alabama 51.35  52.43  47.47  61.04 

Mississippi 49-75  54-48  48.93  61.50 

Louisiana 62.76  57-^o  67.04  56.33 

Northern  States. 

Massachusetts    ....  53.08  41.25  51.09  41  59 

New  York 56.64  56.75  54.78  49.77 

New  Jersey 48-51  51-9'  46-75  44-34 

Pennsylvania 51. 68  42.92  4S.53  43.57 

Ohio 53.31  4625  48.63  42.48 

Illinois 48.73  38-36  4428  38.71 

Indiana 48-36  39-62  42-52  34-39 

Kansas 46.70  40.97  42-82  36.23 

Missouri 46.70  4^-39  42.21  47.75 

Michigan 53.35  50.10  47.09  46.00 

1  Census  report  on  Crime,  Pauperism  and  Benevolence.    Part  II,  pp.  S19-20. 

It  will  be  observed  that  with  only  four  exceptions,  the 
ratio  of  colored  paupers  is  greater  than  that  of  the  whites. 
The  exceptions  are  Georgia,  Florida,  South  Carolina  and 
Louisiana,  all  of  which  are  in  the  extreme  South — sec- 
tions where  indoor  pauperism  is  met  with  to  only  a  very 
limited  extent.  In  all  the  northern  states  the  colored 
paupers  outnumber  the  whites,  which  contradicts  the 
statement  frequently  made  that  while  the  negro  race  fur- 
nishes more  criminals,  it  furnishes  fewer  paupers  than 
the  white  race. 

Pauperism,  North  and  South,  cannot  be  compared,  on 
account  of  the  difference  in  prevailing  relief  methods. 
In  the  South  the  need  of  indoor  relief  is  ver)'  small ;  the 
conditions  of  life  are  much  easier  and  outdoor  relief  is 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  Americayi  Negro.   245 

usually  sufficient.  Able-bodied  paupers,  such  as  we  meet 
with  in  the  alms-houses  in  the  North  are  rare.  The  ac- 
commodations furnished  by  almshouses  are,  on  the  whole, 
not  such  as  would  encourage  pauperism,  even  among 
the  negroes.  With  the  increase  in  wealth  and  general 
economic  progress,  the  South  is  making  better  provision 
for  its  dependent  classes,  and  an  increase  in  the  number 
of  paupers  would  prove  rather  a  shifting  from  outdoor  to 
indoor  relief  than  an  actual  increase  in  pauperism. 

It  will  also  be  observed  that  the  average  age  of  paupers 
in  the  South  is  on  the  whole  about  the  same  for  the  col- 
ored as  for  the  white.  But  in  the  northern  states,  the 
average  age  of  the  colored  is,  with  only  two  exceptions, 
considerably  below  that  of  the  whites.  In  Massachusetts, 
for  instance,  the  average  age  of  the  white  male  paupers 
was  53,  as  against  41  for  the  colored.  This  would  clearly 
indicate  that  the  colored  in  the  northern  states  become 
paupers  at  an  earlier  age  than  in  the  South,  where  condi- 
tions of  indoor  relief  are  less  encouraging  to  chronic 
pauperism. 

Outdoor  relief  to  colored  persons  is  exceedingly  com- 
mon in  the  southern  states.  It  is  not  given  in  the  form 
of  money,  but  in  the  form  of  free  fuel,  free  fruit,  free 
land  for  cultivation,  free  medical  attendance  and,  most  of 
all,  free  burial  in  the  potter's  field.  In  addition  there  is 
an  almost  unseen  agency  of  outdoor  relief,  perhaps  of  all 
the  most  pernicious,  which  furnishes  the  family  of  a 
negro  servant  with  the  remnants  of  the  table  of  the  em- 
ployer. 

The  difference  in  the  extent  of  outdoor  and  indoor  re- 
lief is  illustrated  in  the  table  for  Cincinnati,  in  which  a 
comparison  is  made  between  the  indoor  and  the  various 
kinds  of  outdoor  relief.  The  method  of  comparison  is 
the  same  as  that  made  use  of  in  the  criminal  statistics. 


246  Amc7-ican  Economic  Association. 

and  the   proportion   of  colored  panpers  to  total  is  com- 
pared with  the  percentage  of  colored  in  total  popnlation. 

CHARITY  AND  PAUPERISM  IN  CINCINNATI.— 1894. 


Indoor 

Out-door  Relief. 

(Al 

mshouse) 

Pro- 

Coffin.s, 

Relief. 

visions. 

Fuel. 

Etc. 

450 

2,391 

1.932 

197 

22 

488 

369 

64 

4.89 

20. 4  r 

19. 09 

32.49 

Total  number  receiving  relief. 

Colored • 

Percentage  of  colored  .... 

Percentageofcol'd  population  in  total         3.93        3.93        3.93         393 


The  proportion  of  colored  in  the  total  population  of 
Cincinnati  was  almost  four  per  cent,  in  1890.  The  propor- 
tion of  colored  paupers  in  almshouses  was  almost  five 
per  cent.,  an  excess  amounting  to  one-fifth  of  the  per- 
centage of  population.  The  percentage  of  outdoor  relief 
for  the  colored  was,  for  provisions  20.41,  for  fuel  19.09 ; 
while  for  pauper  funerals  the  rate  was  32.49  per  cent,  of 
the  total.  That  is  to  say,  with  only  3.93  per  cent,  of 
the  population,  the  negroes  were  the  beneficiaries  of  one- 
fifth  of  the  out-door  relief  and  one-third  of  the  expendi- 
tures for  pauper  funerals. 

Pauper  funerals,  as  I  have  stated,  are  extremely  fre- 
quent among  the  colored  population  and  nowhere  else 
dees  absence  of  thrift  so  clearly  manifest  itself  as  in  the 
indifference  to  a  burial  in  the  "  potter's  field."  Whoever 
has  witnessed  the  pauper  funeral  of  a  negro,  the  bare  pine 
box  and  the  common  cart,  the  absence  of  all  that  makes 
less  sorrowful  the  last  rites  over  the  dead,  has  seen  a 
phase  of  negro  life  and  manners  more  disheartening  per- 
haps than  anything  else  in  the  whole  range  of  human 
misery.  Perhaps  only  the  dreary  aspect  of  the  negroes' 
"  potters  field,"  the  low  sand  hills,  row  after  row,  partly 
washed  away  by  the  falling  rains,  unrelieved  by  a  single 
mark  of  human  kindness,  without  a  flower  and  without  a 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   247 

cross,  only  the  pauper  lot  itself,  may  be  more  sad  and 
gruesome  than  the  displa}-  of  almost  inhuman  apathy  at 
the  funeral.  By  this  I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as 
saying  that  the  negro  is  entirely  indifferent,  for  he  is 
not,  and  often  mourns  the  loss  of  a  near  one  as  sincerely 
as  the  member  of  any  other  race,  but  his  indifference  is 
to  a  condition  imposed  upon  him  not  on  account  of  his 
poverty,  but  on  account  of  his  lack  of  thrift. 

In  the  two  tables  which  follow  I  give  the  white  and 
colored  pauper  funerals  in  Washington  and  Charleston 
for  a  period  of  seven  years.  The  table  also  shows  the 
percentage  of  colored  in  total  pauper  burials  and  the  pro- 
portion of  colored  in  total  population. 

PAUPER  FUNERALS  IN  WASHINGTON,  D.  C— 1888-1S94. 

Percentasje  of 
Total.  Colored.  Colored. 

18S8 391  331  84.65 

1889 42S  368  85.98 

1S90 411  375  91-24 

1S91 487  404  82.95 

1892 506  406  80.23 

1893 512  424  82.81 

1894 527  444  84.25 

1888-1894  ....   3,262        2,752  84.36 

Percentage  of  colored  population  in  total 32.89 

PAUPER  FUNERALS  IN  CHARLESTON— 1SS8-1894. 

Percentage  of 
Total.  Colored.  Colored. 

188S 375  366  97.60 

1SS9 36S  356  96.73 

1890 336  331  98.51 

1S91 327  304  92.96 

1892 377  366  97.08 

1S93 351  339  96.58 

1S94 395  3S5  97.46 

1888-1S94  ....        2,529  2,4.^7  96.76 

Percentage  of  colored  population  in  total 56.48 


248  American  Economic  Association. 

The  above  tables  show,  that  in  Washington  84. 36  per 
cent,  of  the  pauper  funerals  were  those  of  colored  per- 
sons, while  only  32.89  per  cent,  of  the  total  population 
were  colored.  In  Charleston  96.76  per  cent,  of  the 
pauper  funerals  were  those  of  negroes,  with  only  56.48 
per  cent,  of  colored  in  the  total  population.  The  tables 
must  not  be  compared  with  each  other  on  account  of  the 
difference  in  the  distribution  of  the  two  races  in  the  two 
cities.  A  comparison  is  made  however  in  the  following 
summary,  in  which  the  percentage  of  pauper  funerals  in 
the  total  number  of  burials  is  shown  for  each  race,  in 
both  cities. 

PROPORTION  OF  PAUPER  FUNERALS  IN  TOTAL  NUMBER  OF  DEATHS. 


Charleston. 

Washington. 

Total           Pauper      Percent- 

Pauper     Percent- 

Burials,      funeral.s.        age. 

Burials,      funerals.       age. 

White  .    .    . 

.       3,672                82            2.23 

21,979              510          2.32 

Colored   .    . 

.       9,388          2,447          26.07 

iS,oS6        2.752       15.22 

According  to  this  table  the  proportion  of  colored  pau- 
per funerals  in  the  total  number  of  burials  was  26.07 
per  cent,  for  Charleston  and  15.22  per  cent,  for  Washing- 
ton. That  is  to  say,  while  one  out  of  every  four  negroes 
dying  in  Charleston  was  buried  at  public  expense,  only 
one  out  of  six  was  buried  in  this  way  in  Washington, 
showing  a  decided  improvement  in  this  respect  for  the 
colored  people  of  the  latter  city.  But  it  is  a  question 
not  easily  answered,  whether  this  lower  rate  for  Wash- 
ington may  not  be  due  in  part  to  local  conditions  which 
make  pauper  burials  more  difficult.  For  in  Cincinnati 
it  has  been  shown  that  one-third  of  those  who  were 
buried  at  public  expense  were  colored,  and  similar  rates 
are  met  with  in  other  cities,  data  for  which  would  only 
burden  this  work  with  cumulative  evidence.  The 
rational  explanation  would  seem  to  me  to  be  the    de- 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   249 

velopment  in  the  Capitol  City  of  a  higher  degree  of 
social  pride,  which,  while  not  a  strictly  moral  element, 
is  nevertheless  of  high  social  and  economic  valne.  The 
principle  of  association  for  benevolent  pnrposes,  assist- 
ance in  sickness  and  insurance  at  death,  has  also,  with- 
out question,  largely  affected  the  colored  population  of 
Washington,  more  perhaps  than  that  of  any  other   city. 

The  beneficient  effect  of  this  change  is,  however, 
more  developed  in  the  seen  than  in  the  unseen,  and  the 
attention  paid  to  ceremonial  matters  has  had  no  in- 
fluence in  developing  the  more  important  regard  for 
sexiial  morality  and  monogamic  marriage.  Improved 
economic  conditions  have  therefore  affected  the  less  im- 
portant phases  and  tendencies  of  life,  rather  than  the 
more  important  ;  they  have  affected  changes  in  the  sur- 
face conditions,  but  have  failed  to  go  to  the  root. 

I  cannot  do  better  than  close  this  chapter  with  the 
timely  words  of  ]^»I.  Leroy-Beaulieu,  which  are  as  ap- 
plicable to  the  colored  race  as  they  are  to  the  white  or 
any  other  race, — and  even  to  a  greater  degree,  since  the 
downw^ard  tendencies  are  so  much  more  distinctly  recog- 
nizable among  the  colored  than  among  other  races  : 

We  need  hardl)^  point  out  that  it  is  far  from  our  intention  to  con- 
demn either  education  in  general  or  that  of  women  [negroes  I  would 
add]  in  particular,  but  it  is  rather  our  desire  to  point  oat  what  appears 
to  be  necessary  to  improve  and  modify  its  tendencies.  Every  age  is 
characterized  b}'  its  peculiar  craze.  The  present  craze  is  for  educa- 
tion, unlimited  and  injudicious,  and  for  philanthropy  equally  un- 
limited and  injudicious,  both  absolutely  superficial.  Bj'  their  aid  we 
have  succeeded  in  producing  a  mental  condition  and  creating  social 
circumstances  which  are  most  unfavorable  to  the  growth  of  the 
population. 1 

^Journal  of  tlie  Royal  Statistical  Society,  1891,  p.  3S4. 


Chapter  VI. 

ECONOMIC  CONDITION  AND  TENDENCIES, 

The  general  economic  condition  of  the  negro  race  is  a 
subject  on  which  much  has  been  written  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  casual  observer,  or  the  interested  investi- 
gator ;  but  no  attempt  has  ever  been  made  by  govern- 
ment, national  or  local,  to  deal  with  the  subject  in  a 
comprehensive  manner.  This  is  the  more  to  be  regretted 
since  much  that  is  now  done  in  behalf  of  the  race  is  the 
result  of  investigations  and  observations  naturally 
limited  and  inadequate.  If,  instead  of  the  numerous  in- 
vestigations into  phases  of  social  life,  (with  which  the 
government  could  not  interfere  even  if  it  desired),  an 
annual  or  quinquennial  investigation  were  made  by  a 
competent  commission  to  ascertain  the  moral  and 
material  condition  of  the  race,  in  the  same  way  that  the 
government  of  India  prepares  its  annual  and  decennial 
summary  reports  on  the  moral  and  material  condition  of 
the  people  of  India,  a  most  important  step  toward  a  more 
scientific  view  of  the  needs  and  wants  of  the  negro  would 
be  gained.  As  matters  stand,  it  is  difficult  to  discuss 
the  subject  in  a  satisfactory  way,  and  this  attempt  to 
bring  together  the  most  important  facts  is  rather  in  the 
nature  of  a  contribution  to  a  more  comprehensive  study 
than  an  attempt  to  deal  comprehensively  and  exhaust- 
ively with  the  economic  condition  and  tendencies  of  the 
colored  race.  I  have  confined  myself  to  a  few  points  on 
which  the  necessary  data  were  fairly  reliable  and  com- 
plete enough  to  permit  a  discussion  as  to  the  probable 
future  tendency  of  the  race  in  the  direction  of  material 


Race  Traits  and  Tc?idencies  of  the  American  Negro.   251 

well  being,  and  its  influence  as  an  economic  factor  in  the 
development  of  the  nation. 

The  Negro  as  an  Agricultural  Laborer. 

The  vast  portion  of  the  colored  population  of  the 
southern  states  are  still  agricultural  laborers,  and  the 
observed  tendency  of  the  negro  population  to  drift  into 
the  cities  has  not  affected  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
total  colored  population.  The  attempts  made  to  migrate 
to  the  western  states  or  to  emigrate  to  Mexico,  Liberia,  or 
other  foreign  countries,  have  had  very  slight  influence 
on  the  population  at  large.  The  fact  that  of  this  vast 
population  the  majority  are  tillers  of  the  soil,  productive 
factors  in  the  highest  economic  sense,  invests  the  probable 
tendencies  of  the  race  with  an  unusual  degree  of  public 
interest.  Does  the  negro  as  an  agricultural  laborer  pro- 
duce as  much  as  a  white  man  under  the  same  conditions  ? 
Does  he  as  a  free  man  produce  as  much  as,  or  more  than, 
he  did  under  the  regime  of  slavery  ?  To  these  two  ques- 
tions at  present  no  satisfactory  answer  can  be  given,  for 
the  reasons  stated  at  the  beginning  of  the  chapter.  Yet 
some  data  are  available  which  may  be  worth  recording, 
and  may  serve  at  least  the  purpose  of  showing  the  dearth 
of  data  for  this  part  of  my  investigation. 

The  diflficulty  in  deciding  as  to  the  comparative  effi- 
ciency of  white  and  colored  labor  is  enhanced  by  the 
conflict  of  opinion  even  among  those  most  competent  to 
judge  of  the  negro  as  an  agricultural  or  industrial 
worker.  "  I  know  of  no  subject,"  said  the  late  General 
Armstrong,  "  on  which  you  hear  such  diametrically  op- 
posite opinions  as  you  do  about  the  colored  people.  I 
have  heard  two  men  in  the  same  town,  each  of  them  a 
large  employer  of  colored  labor,  and  each,  of  them  with 


252  Americayi  Ecojiomic  Association. 

equal  experience,  say  the  direct  opposite,  the  one  claim- 
ing that  the  colored  race  might  be  developed  to  any  ex- 
tent, the  other  that  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  for 
them.'"  This  difficulty  is  emphasized  in  two  letters  to 
the  Chattanooga  Tradesman  from  southern  planters. 
The  first,  from  Mr.  Alf.  Stone,  of  Greenville,  Miss., 
maintains  that  "  the  negro  as  a  field  hand  is  a  failure," 
and  advises  planters  to  substitue  "  the  thrifty  foreigner, 
Italians,  Germans,  Norwegians."  A  Mr.  Massey,  of 
Friars  Point,  INIiss.,  replies  that  "  the  negro  is  the  most 
docile  and  tractable  of  all  laborers  and  under  proper 
management  the  most  contented  and  profitable.  The 
thriftlessness  generally  ascribed  to  the  negro  is  more  the 
fault  of  the  employer  than  of  the  laborer."  - 

In  the  Coiinti'y  Gentleman  a  few  years  ago,  a  Con- 
necticut farmer  gave  his  experience  with  negro  labor, 
mostly  from  Virginia,  concluding  his  remarks  with  the 
following  words  :  "  In  the  course  of  several  years  others 
came  to  our  town  from  the  same  region,  and  I  cannot 
recall  a  single  instance  in  which  they  did  not  prove 
efficient  and  reliable  workmen.  .  .  .  Those  whom 
we  employed  were  pure-minded  and  honest-hearted  and 
possessed  skill  and  judgment  to  a  degree  which  has 
seldom  been  equalled  by  any  workman  on  our  farm." 
The  experience  of  a  Virginia  planter.  Col.  Henry  Stokes 
of  Prince  Edward  county,  showed  that  "  under  the 
direction  of  a  level  head,  .  .  .  20,000  hills  of 
tobacco  to  the  hand  were  cultivated,  in  contrast  with  only 
10,000  hills  under  slavery,  demonstrating  that  a  free 
man  is  worth  just  twice  as  much  as  a  slave." ' 

These  favorable  views  of  experienced  farmers  are  in 

^L.  D.  Powles,  "Land  of  the  Pink  Pearl,"  (London,  188S),  p.  193. 
■^  Tradesman,  January  15,  1892. 
3  Farmville/o«r«a/. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendeyicics  of  the  Americari  Negro.   253 

contrast  with  the  opinion  of  the  former  commissioner  of 
agricnlture  of  Tennessee,  Mr.  Killebrew,  who,  in  the 
Tradesman  of  Jannary  i,  1895,  writes  as  follows  :  "  The 
great  and  leading  differences  between  white  and  colored 
labor  is  this,  the  first  has  ambition,  calculates  possi- 
bilities, and  looks  forward  to  the  future ;  the  latter  en- 
joys the  present,  is  indifferent  of  what  is  to  come,  and  is 
utterly  incapable  of  that  self  denial  which  makes  thrift 
and  prosperity  possible." 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  value  of  free  labor  in 
the  cultivation  of  tobacco  in  Virginia.  Mr.  Bruce,  who 
studied  the  negro  in  the  section  of  Virginia  where  to- 
bacco is  extensively  cultivated,  writes  of  the  pres- 
ent day  negro  as  follows  :  "  In  all  those  counties  of  the 
tobacco  region  of  Virginia  in  which  the  crop  is  culti- 
vated and  prepared  for  market  entirely  by  negroes,  there 
has  been  a  notable  decline  in  the  quality  of  the  staple  as 
well  as  in  the  character  of  its  manipulation,  now  that 
the  majority  of  the  hands  who  were  trained  for  many 
years  under  the  eye  of  their  master  or  the  overseer  are 
fast  dying  off.  .  .  .  Tobacco  requires  the  most 
thorough  information  and  the  most  discriminating  skill 
from  the  hour  that  the  plant  expands  in  the  patch,  to 
the  moment  the  leaf  is  prized  in  the  hogshead.  Under 
the  old  system  each  plantation  had  its  circle  of  slaves 
who  were  carefully  educated  from  childhood  to  do  gen- 
eral or  special  work,  and  the  individual  of  that  circle  at- 
tained to  much  expertness  in  the  various  tasks  of  the 
barns  and  fields  ;  but  under  the  present  system  this  is 
impossible  and  the  result  is  that  labor  of  the  new  regime 
is  generally  inferior  in  character."  ' 

The  production  of  tobacco  in  the  counties  in  which 

'  "  The  Plantation  Negro  as  a  Freeman,"  p.  183. 
17 


254  American  Economic  Association. 

it  was  most  extensively  produced  previous  to  the  war, 
was  less  in  1889  than  thirty  years  ago.  If  we  select 
five  representative  counties,  as  has  been  done  in  the 
table  below,  it  is  shown  that  the  product  has  ver\-  ma- 
terially decreased  since  1859. 

TOBACCO  PRODUCTION  OF  FIVE   SELECTED   COUNTIES    OF    VIRGINIA, 
1S59  and  1889. 


Population,  1890.  Tobacco  Production,  (Lbs.). 

White.  Colored.  1859.  1889. 

Albermarle 18,133  '4,245  5.429.390  557.364 

Charlotte 5.714  9.3^3  5,666,600  1,762,000 

Halifax 14.891  19.533  8,544,500  5. 432. 500 

Mecklenburg     .    .    .            9,192  16,167  6,631,800  2,737,600 

Prince  Edward .    .    .            4,750  9,944  4.231,500  1,633,800 

Five  Counties   .  52,680        69,252         30,504,090         12,123,264 

The  production  for  1859  ^^^^^  ?P-b  "'ilhon  pounds  ; 
the  production  for  1889  was  only  12.1  million  pounds. 
Leaving  out  of  consideration  the  increase  in  the  popu- 
lation during  this  period,  the  falling  off  is  remarkable. 
It  will  be  observed  that  in  these  five  counties  the 
colored  are  greatly  in  the  majorit)\  Only  one  county 
of  the  state,  Pittsylvania,  reported  a  larger  production 
in  1889  than  in  1859  (^  ^^^"^  speaking  here  only  of  those 
counties  the  total  product  of  which  in  1859  was  in  excess 
of  four  million  pounds.)  In  1859  ^^"^^  production  of  to- 
bacco in  this  county  was  7.9  million  pounds,  against  12.3 
million  pounds  in  1879  ^^^  '^^  million  pounds  in  1889. 
But  in  this  county  the  whites  exceed  the  colored  by  a 
small  majority  (31  to  29),  the  former  having  increased 
at  a  higher  rate  than  the  latter  during  the  period  1880- 
90.  Hence,  the  possible  argument  that  the  large  pro- 
duction of  the  period  previous  to  the  war  exhausted  the 
soil  and  caused  an  overproduction  per  acre,  hardly  holds 
good.  At  least  it  would  seem  difficult  to  account  for 
the  falling  off  on  this  ground,  in  view  of  the  statement 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   255 

of  the  correspondent  of  the  Farmville  Journal  that  a 
laborer  now  takes  care  of  twice  the  nnmber  of  plants 
that  was  customary  previous  to  emancipation. 

We  may  compare,  however,  the  five  counties  of  Vir- 
ginia with  four  counties  of  Kentucky  having  a  colored 
population  of  less  than  five  per  cent.  The  four  counties 
produced  about  90,000  pounds  of  tobacco  in  1859  as  com- 
pared with  more  than  10  million  pounds  in  1889.  It  must 
be  taken  into  consideration  that  the  large  proportion  of 
laborers  in  these  counties  must  necessarily  be  white. 

TOBACCO  PRODUCTION  OF  FOUR  COUNTIES  OF  KENTUCKY,   1859-1889. 

Population.  Tobacco  Production,    (I,bs.). 

White.        Colored.  1859.                   1889. 

Lewis 14,618           185  35.595          2,340,984 

Campbell 43>496            712  40,520           1,733-227 

Bath 11.228         1,58.5  4,542          4.555,912 

Mercer 11,924        3,iio  9,681           1,414,733 

Four  Counties.  .  81,266        5,592  90,338         10,044,856 

It  is  of  course  an  open  question  whether  the  increased 
production  of  tobacco  in  these  counties  is  not  the-  re- 
sult of  cultivation  of  new  soils  not  previously  exhausted  ; 
but  that  is  immaterial  for  our  purpose.  The  point,  to 
be  observed  is  that  in  counties  containing  a  great 
majority  of  negroes  the  production  is  falling  off,  while 
in  other  sections  of  the  country  containing  only  a  small 
proportion  of  colored  population,  the  production  has 
greatly  increased.  This  is  true  of  the  production  per 
acre  as  well  as  of  the  total  yield.  The  average  product 
per  acre  was  396  pounds  for  the  five  Virginia  counties 
as  compared  with  879  pounds  for  four  Kentucky  counties. 

It  is  therefore  apparent  that  Mr.  Russell  was  in  error 
when  he  declared '  that  "  tobacco  cannot  be  cultivated 
in  the  Free  States  by  hiring  and  employing  laborers,  it 

^"  North   America:    Its   Agriculture   and    Climate,"    (Edinburgh, 
1857),  p.  141. 


256  Amcricayi  Economic  Association. 

is  only  cultivated  there  by  small  farmers,"  and  that 
"  free  labor  cannot  successfully  compete  with  slave 
labor  in  the  production  of  tobacco,  for  among  other 
reasons,  slave  owners  can  always  command  the  quantity 
as  well  as  quality  of  labour  that  are  required  to  raise 
this  crop  economically.'"  In  Virginia,  with  38.7  per 
cent,  colored  in  the  total  population,  the  tobacco  crop  of 
the  state  has  fallen  off  from  12 1.8  million  pounds  in  1859 
to  48.5  million  pounds  in  1889.  In  Kentucky,  where 
the  colored  population  forms  only  14.7  per  cent,  of  the 
total,  the  production  has  increased  from  108.  i  million 
pounds  in  1859  to  221.9  million  pounds  in  1889.- 

In  view  of  these  facts,  it  would  seem  that  the  opinion 
of  Mr.  Bruce  as  regards  the  deterioration  of  colored 
labor  in  the  production  of  this  staple  was  justified,  and 
that  the  falling  off  in  the  tobacco  production  of  the 
five  selected  Virginia  counties  is  more  the  result  of  a 
diminishing  economic  efficiency  in  the  negro  in  this 
branch  of  agriculture  than  of  changes  in  the  productive- 
ness of  the  soil,  or  the  substitution  of  other  crops,  etc. 
I  am  fairly  familiar  with  the  conditions  of  one  county, 
and  have  had  opportunity  to  observe  the  effects  of  the 
migratory  tendency  of  the  race  on  the  changes  in  the 
agricultural  condition  of  a  given  locality.  In  Charlotte 
county,  for  instance,  where  previous  to  the  war  a  crop  of 
over  five  million  pounds  \vas  raised,  almost  exclusively 
by  slave  labor,  many  of  the  farm  hands  have  migrated 
to  the  new  cities  of  Roanoke,  Newport  News,  etc. 
Hence  the  valuable  special  knowledge,  so  much  insisted 
upon  by  writers  on  the  subject,  is  largely  wasted  and 
the  planter  has  to  face  the  serious  question  of  either 
educating  constantly  a  new  number  of  hands,  any  one 

1  "North  America  :  Its  Agriculture  and  Climate,"  pp.  140-41. 
*  Extra  census  bulletin,  No.  13.    Washington,  D.  C,  1S91. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   257 

of  whom  may  leave  the  locality  the  next  year,  or  of 
abandoning-  the  cultivation  of  this  particular  crop.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  farm  laborer  in  the  new  cities  has  to 
meet  new  conditions  in  which  his  ignorance  handicaps 
him  from  the  beginning,  and  while  thousands  of  me- 
chanics are  imported  from  the  factories  and  ship  yards 
of  the  North,  earning  excellent  wages,  he  fills  only  a 
menial  position  and  earns  only  the  wages  of  unskilled 
labor. 

The  economic  disadvantage  of  this  tendency  to  de- 
teriorate in  efficiency  in  a  branch  of  agriculture  which 
is  constantly  opening  up  new  sections  of  the  country, 
is  perhaps  nowhere  better  illustrated  than  in  the  case 
of  South  Carolina,  where  the  almost  exclusive  produc- 
tion of  cotton  and  rice  of  the  ante-war  period  is 
gradually  giving  way  to  the  production  o'f  other  staples, 
of  which  tobacco  is  today  considered  one  of  the  most 
promising.  A  writer  in  the  Columbia  State  of  a  recent 
date,  in  dealing  with  the  subject  of  changes  in  the  agri- 
cultural condition  of  the  state,  refers  to  the  subject  as 
follows  :  "  The  tobacco  business  will  not  be  overdone  in 
South  Carolina  until  the  quantity  produced  is  quin- 
tupled. For  the  present  it  is  the  best  money-making 
crop  in  the  state,  for  here  the  yield  is  greater  and  the 
quality  is  better  than  in  Virginia  or  North  Carolina." 
The  production  has  increased  from  104,000  pounds  in 
1859,  to  223,000  pounds  in  1889  and  more  than  three 
million  pounds  in  1894.  Hence  a  field  in  which  this 
special  knowledge  of  the  cultivation  of  a  valuable  crop 
would  have  been  of  very  great  advantage  to  the  colored 
race,  is  gradually  being  abandoned  and  left  to  the  white 
race. 

In  South  Carolina  the  negro  has  at  all  times  been  an 
indispensable  factor  in  the  production  of  another  staple* 


258  Aniericayi  Economic  Association. 

rice  ;  and  it  may  be  of  value  to  add  the  statement  of 
one  who  has  made  this  a  subject  of  scientific  investiga- 
tion. j\Ii-.  Milton  Whitney,  M.S.,  in  a  chapter  on 
"  Rice  Soils  of  South  Carolina,"  forming  part  of  a 
special  report  by  IVIr.  Amory  Austin,  B.S.,  to  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  refers  to  the  subject  of  negro  labor 
in  the  rice  lands  of  South  Carolina  as  follows  : 

There  are  at  present  in  South  Carolina,  and  doubtless  the  same 
conditions  hold  good  in  other  rice  growing  states,  thousands  of  acres 
of  the  finest  rice  lands,  which  have  been  abandoned  and  are  now  lying 
idle.  .  .  .  The  principal  cause  which  has  brought  about  the  exist- 
ing conditions  of  things  and  has  caused  the  abandonment  of  so  much 
rice  land  is  the  lack  of  capital  due  to  heavy  losses  sustained  by  the 
planters  during  the  late  war.  .  .  .  Another  fact  which  has  brought 
about  the  present  condition  of  affairs  and  explains  in  part  why  so 
much  rice  laud  has  been  abandoned,  is  the  scarcity  of  negro  labor,  by 
which  practically  all  the  field  work  has  been  done.  The  phosphate 
industry  along  the  coast  in  South  Carolina  and  Florida  has  drawn 
large  numbers  of  these  negroes  away  from  the  rice  fields,  attracting 
them  by  higher  wages  and  what  they  consider  a  more  independent 
life.  It  is  difficult  to  secure  enough  labor  to  handle  the  crops  and  the 
negroes  who  remain  on  the  plantations  are  not  as  steady,  as  efficient 
or  as  reliable  as  the  older  generations  were  before  the  war.  With  the 
phosphate  works  almost  in  sight  of  their  dwellings,  and  an  abundance 
of  fish  and  game,  and  a  mild  climate  making  it  easy  to  live,  they  are 
so  irresponsible  that  it  is  diflficult  to  control  labor.  They  are  very  un- 
willing to  work  in  the  ditches  and  canals,  and  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  keep  the  ditches  and  canals  clean  and  of  a  proper  depth  by  the 
available  negro  labor     .     .     .     ' 

This  despondent  view  of  the  present  value  of  negro 
labor  in  the  rice  fields  is  met  with  in  most  of  the  refer- 
ences to  the  future  of  rice  culture.  It  is  clearly  sup- 
ported by  the  statistics  of  rice  production  in  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia  where  the  annual  production  since 
the  war  has  been  considerably  below  the  nonnal  yield 
of  previous  years   under  the  regime  of  slavery.     The 

^  "  Rice  :  Its  Cultivation  and  Distribution,"  (Department  of  Agri- 
culture, 1S93),  p.  77  et  seq. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  Arnerican  Negro.   259 

summary    below    will  show  the   production   of  rice  in 
three  states  during  the  period  1850-89. 

South  Carolina.  Georgia.  Louisiana. 

Year.                                                  Lbs.                            Lbs.  Lbs. 

1850 159,930,000  38,950,000  4,425,000 

1880 52,077,000  25,369,000  23,188,000 

1889 31,689,000  14,057,000  76,221,000 

The  increase  in  Louisiana  is  in  part  explained  on  the 
ground  that  large  areas  of  former  sugar  plantations  near 
the  delta  of  the  Mississippi  have  been  utilized  in  the 
cultivation  of  rice.  The  method  of  cultivation,  how- 
ever, does  not  seem  to  be  such  as  would  insure  the  same 
degree  of  permanency  as  prevailed  in  South  Carolina 
previous  to  the  war.  The  replacing  of  sugar  culture 
by  rice  culture  is  at  the  same  time  only  a  quasi-public 
benefit.  In  recent  years,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to 
ascertain,  there  has  been  some  improvement  in  the  pro- 
duction of  rice  in  South  Carolina.  The  annual  product 
for  1894  is  estimated  by  the  South  Carolina  Agriculture 
College  at  70  million  pounds.  This  is  still  less  than 
one-half  the  production  of  1850.  The  annual  produc- 
tion of  the  United  States  was  215  million  pounds  in 
1850  and  only  1 1 5. 5  million  pounds  in  1894.  In  this 
industry  therefore,  as  well  as  in  the  tobacco  production, 
w^e  must  attribute  a  decreasing  production  more  to  the 
growing  inefficiency  of  negro  labor  than  to  other 
economic  causes. 

In  the  testimony  of  i\Ir.  John  Schreven  before  the 
ways  and  means  committee  of  the  Fifty-first  Congress, 
having  under  consideration  the  change  of  the  duty  on 
rice,  the  statement  was  made  that  "since  the  emancipation 
of  the  slaves  the  cost  of  agricultural  labor  in  the  South 
has  been  largely  increased.  In  the  rice  districts  of 
Georgia  and  the  Carolinas,   field   labor   ranges   from   40 


2fio  Arnericaji  Economic  Association. 

to  60  cents,  and  the  best  expert  (not  mechanical)  labor 
to  one  dollar  per  diem  .  .  ,  this  without  the  efficiency 
to  be  expected  from  free  labor.  The  laborers  frequently 
refuse  to  undertake  tasks,  easy  under  a  sterner  system 
and  essential  to  nice  cultivation.  A  day's  labor  is  com- 
monly reduced  to  six  hours  instead  of  ten.  The  con- 
sequences of  these  conditions  are  reduced  production, 
and  commonly,  minimum  crops.'" 

In  the  report  of  Amory  Austin,  already  referred  to, 
the  statement  is  made  in  regard  to  rice  culture  in 
Georgia,  that  the  decline  in  the  culture  of  rice  is  due  to 
"the  dislike  of  the  negro  to  the  work  upon  the  marshes."^ 

In  the  production  of  cotton,  in  which  it  is  commonly 
assumed  the  negro  participates  more  largely  than  in 
the  production  of  any  other  southern  staple,  it  would 
seem  that  the  tendency  is  in  the  same  direction,  that  is, 
the  work  is  slowly  drifting  from  the  negro  into  the 
hands  of  the  whites,  both  in  the  states  which  contain 
the  largest  proportion  of  colored  population  and  in 
Texas  where  the  whites  predominate. 

Texas,  according  to  the  last  census,  contained  a  pro- 
portion of  28  colored  to  every  hundred  of  white  popu- 
lation. In  i860  the  proportion  was  43  to  100.  Hence 
we  have  for  this  state  a  larger  increase  in  white  population, 
the  majority  of  which  are  of  foreign  birth  or  are  native 
settlers  from  other  states.^  Now,  it  was  one  of  the  dic- 
tums  of  the  believers  in  the  value  of  negro  labor  in 
cotton  production  that  "  where  the  greatest  amount  of 

'  Hearings  of  ways  and  means  committee,  Fifty-first  Congress,  p.  931. 

^  "  Rice  :  Its  cultivation"  etc.  Washington,  1S93. 

*  According  to  the  census  of  1890,  Texas  had  a  total  popula- 
tion of  2,235,523,  of  which  1,745,935  were  white.  Of  the  latter  1,408,- 
880  were  native  whites  of  native  parentage,  but  only  825,280  had  been 
born  in  Texas.  Hence,  only  47.8  per  cent,  were  natives  in  the  re- 
stricted sense  of  the  word. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   261 

cotton  is  produced  there  will  be  found  tlie  greatest  negro 
population,  and  as  the  one  decreases  the  other  does  also, 
though  not  necessarily  in  the  same  ratio."^  This  is  no 
longer  applicable  in  the  production  of  cotton  as  a  south- 
ern staple.  We  may  compare  the  two  states  IMississippi 
and  Texas  to  illustrate  this  point. 

COTTON  PRODUCTION  OF  MISSISSIPPI,  1860-1894. 

Colored  Cotton  Average  Net  Weight 

Population.  Bales.  of  Bales. 

1S60 437,404  1,202,507  461   Lbs. 

1890 747.720  1,154.725  478     " 

1894 ...  1,167,881  474     " 

COTTON  PRODUCTION  OF  TF;XAS,    1860-1894. 

Colored  Cotton  Average  Net  Weight 

Popiilation.  Bales.  of  Bales. 

i860 182,921        431,462       461  Lbs. 

J890 303.384  1. 471. 242         478   " 

1894 .  .  3,073,821         474   " 


With  le.ss  than  one-half  as  large  a  colored  population 
as  Mississippi,  the  state  of  Texas  produced  in  1894  almost 
three  times  the  cotton  crop  of  the  former  state.  With 
almost  twice  the  colored  population  of  i860,  Mississippi 
in  1894  produced  less  cotton  than  34  years  ago.  Thus  it 
is  seen  that  it  is  not  merely  the  presence  of  a  large 
colored  population  to  which  the  cultivation  of  a  large 
cotton  crop  must  be  attributed.  For  other  states  similar 
results  could  be  shown,  but  the  instance  cited  will 
suffice. 

It  is  therefore  a  question  to  what  extent  white  labor 
enters  into  the  production  of  cotton.  In  the  uplands 
the  whites  have  always  cultivated  their  own  cotton.  In 
the  alluvial  lands  along  the  Mississippi  river,  of  course, 
the  larger  part  of  the  crop  is  grown  by   negro  labor. 

'  Report  on  internal  commerce,  Washington,  D.  C,  1886,  p.  560. 


262  American  Ecoyiomic  Association. 

The  only  investigation  of  which  I  have  knowledge  in 
which  it  was  attempted  to  ascertain  the  proportion  ,of 
the  cotton  crop  raised  by  colored  and  white  labor  re- 
spectively, was  made  in  1876,  and  is  reported  by  the 
Commissioner  of  Agricultnre.  The  results  of  this  in- 
vestigation were  a  surprise  to  many  who  up  to  the  time 
held  the  belief  that  the  whites  participated  but  slightly 
in  the  production  of  this,  the  greatest  of  southern  crops. 

PROPORTION  OF  COTTON  CROP  GROWN  BY  WHITE  AND  COLORED 
LABOR.  (1876.) 


North  Carolina 
Soutli  Carolina 
Georgia    .    .    .    , 

Florida 

Alabama  .    .    .    . 
Mississippi  .   .    , 
Louisiana    .    .    . 
Texas       ... 
Arkansas  ... 
Tennessee  .    . 


In  1880  it  was  estimated  that  of  the  total  cotton  crop, 
2,553,000  bales  were  grown  by  white  labor,  against 
3,212,000  bales  grown  by  colored  labor.  In  other  words 
over  40  per  cent,  of  the  total  crop  was  the  result  of 
w^hite  labor.  In  ]\Iississippi,  according  to  a  report  of 
the  board  of  immigration  and  agriculture  in  18S0,  out 
of  a  total  of  955,800  bales,  328,568  bales,  or  over  34 
per  cent.,  was  grown  by  white  labor.  It  is  an  open 
question  whether  this  proportion  of  cotton  production 
by  whites  in  the  states  formerly  the  main  producers  of 
this  staple,  has  increased  during  recent  years. 

The  elaborate  investigation  of  the  Senate  committee 
into  the  condition  of  cotton  growers,  failed  to  deal  with 
the  problem  of  labor  in  an  adequate  manner.     Only  one 


Colored. 

White. 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

65 

.^5 

68 

32 

66 

34 

72 

28 

59 

41 

68 

32 

77 

23 

3S 

62 

40 

60 

59 

4t 

Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   263 

decided  opinion  was  given  in  regard  to  the  present  value 
of  negro  labor,  in  connection  with  this  industry,  and  on 
account  of  its  exceptional  value  I  give  the  quotation  in 
full. 

Of  all  causes  mentioned  as  contributing  to  the  financial  depression 
of  the  cotton  raiser,  the  want  of  reliable  labor  is  perhaps  the  most 
important  and  most  difficult  to  remedy.  As  stated  previously,  our 
crops  are  mainly  cultivated  by  negro  labor.  For  several  years  after 
the  close  of  the  war,  the  manumitted  slave  was,  from  previous  train- 
ing and  force  of  habit,  a  very  desirable  laborer,  but  as  the  generation 
of  the  ex-slave  passed  away  and  a  new  generation  sprang  up,  they  be- 
came more  lazy,  thriftless  and  unreliable,  until  they  will  soon  attain  a 
condition  of  total  depravity  and  utter  worthlessness.  .  .  .  The 
negro  laborer,  notwithstanding  he  gets  one-half  of  the  crop,  and  is 
subjected  to  no  expense,  will,  upon  an  average  not  work  more  than 
four  hours  a  day,  nor  more  than  three  days  per  week.  I  can  only 
suggest  one  remedy  for  this  state  of  affairs  and  that  I  admit  is  im- 
practicable, if  not  impossible.  That  is,  for  the  government  to  deport 
and  colonize  the  negro  in  Liberia  or  the  Sandwich  Islands.  If  such  a 
thing  could  be  accomplished  we  might  suffer  some  temporary  incon- 
venience and  pecuniary  loss  but  the  place  of  the  negro  would  soon  be 
filled  by  active,  honest  and  industrious  whites  from  the  middle, 
northern  and  western  states,  and  Europe.  Relieve  us  of  this  incubus 
and  your  name  shall  be  blessed,  even  unto  the  tenth  generation.^ 

In  this  statement  the  same  complaint  is  made,  that 
"  the  negro  w411  work  only  a  few  hours  a  day,  and  only 
a  few  days  out  of  the  whole  week."  In  the  production 
of  the  great  staples  as  well  as  in  agriculture  in  general, 
nothing  is  more  important  than  continuous  application 
of  labor  until  the  crop  is  harvested.  The  uncertainty  as 
to  the  permanency  of  this  labor  supply  has  induced 
many  planters  to  discontinue  cultivation  on  a  large  scale. 
Of  the  labor  in  Louisiana,  Mr.  Henry  G.  Foster,  U.  S. 
Treasury  expert,  of  New  Orleans,  wrote  ten  years  ago 
as  follows  :  "  The  labor  in  parts  of  Louisiana  is  inclined 

1  Report  of  the  Senate  committee  on  agriculture.  Vol.  I,  p.  362, 
(Washington,  D.  C,  1895).  The  quotation  is  from  a  letter  to  the 
chairman,  Senator  George,  by  Mr.  I.  A.  Wimbish,  of  Cuerro,  DeWitt 
County,  Texas. 


264  Amcricafi  Econotnic  Association. 

to  be  nomadic  ;  many  of  them  quit  the  plantation  after 
the  crop  is  picked  and  baled,  and  work  during  the 
winter  months  on  the  steamboats,  in  the  cotton  yards  or 
on  the  levee  of  New  Orleans.  This  irregular  mode  of 
life  demoralizes  them  and  injures  their  usefulness.  They 
rarely  return  to  the  same  plantation  which  they  quitted, 
and  they  become  less  reliable  as  steady  laborers."  ' 

This  view  is  again  supported  by  the  results  of  an  elab- 
orate investigation  made  into  the  wages  of  farm  labor 
in  1892.-  The  investigation  was  conducted  by  the  regu- 
lar correspondents  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  and 
nearly  every  important  county  in  the  South  was  covered 
by  the  report.  From  all  sources  the  complaint  was  made 
that  the  present  labor  supply  was  not  of  a  satisfactory 
quality,  oftentimes  insufficient  in  quantity.  A  few  of 
the  most  emphatic  statements  are  given  as  follows  : 

[Mississippi,  Perry  county].  "Labor  abundant  but  of  an  exceed- 
ingl)-  unreliable  character.  As  a  rule  no  crop  can  be  wholly  made  by 
colored  labor,  we  have  no  other  kind."  .  .  .  [Alcorn  county]. 
"  Farm  labor  is  scarce  because  of  the  tendency  of  the  negroes  to 
move  westward  to  the  Mississippi  and  Yazoo  bottoms  and  to  Ar- 
kansas." 

[Louisiana,  Franklin  parish].  "  Farm  laborers  very  scarce  .  .  . 
many,  both  men  and  women  have  drifted  into  little  hamlets  and  vil- 
lages, where  they  eke  out  a  precarious  living."  .  .  .  [West  Feli- 
ciana parish].  "  Laborers  are  gradually  leaving  the  hills  and  concen- 
trating near  rivers  and  town." 

[Georgia,  Randolph  county].  "An  increasing  scarcity  each  year, 
as  the  colored  people  move  to  towns."  .  .  .  [Habersham  county] 
"We  have  no  difficulty  in  procuring  farm  labor,  although  the  negro 
is  uncertain,  he  is  indifferent  about  work  if  he  has  a  little  ahead." 
.  .  .  [Lincoln  count)'].  "  Farm  labor  scarce,  owmg  to  the  vagrant 
disposition  of  the  negro." 

[South  Carolina,  Georgetown  county].  "Farm  labor  scarce  be- 
cause the  young  negroes  do  not  like  field  work  and  go  to  cities,  and 
the  women  who  constitute  the  strength  of  the  work  in  the  rice  fields 

^Report  on  Internal  Commerce,  1886,  p.  511. 

2  "  Wages  of  Farm  Labor  in  the  United  States,  1866-1892."  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  1892. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  Amcrica7i  Negro.   265 

are  lazy  and  do  not  more  than  six  hours  work  in  a  whole  day,  so  that 
forty  cents  may  be  said  to  be  paid  for  six  hours  work. 

[Virjjinia,  York  county].  Farm  labor  plentiful  but  very  unreli- 
able  [Charles  City  county].       Farm  labor  is  more  and 

more  uncertain  and  indifferent.  .  .  .  [Accomack  county]. 
"  Farm  laborers  abundant  in  numbers  could  they  be  induced  to  work. 
After  earning  a  few  dollars  they  quit  work  until  it  is  gone. 

In  none  of  the  linndred.s  of  reports  have  I  found  any 
evidence  that  colored  farm  labor  is  improving  in  quality, 
least  of  all  in  quantity.  The  great  majority  of  the  cor- 
respondents agree  that  the  negro  is  drifting  from  the 
farm  into  the  new  industries  of  the  South,  that  the 
higher  wages  paid  in  railroad  building  and  public  works, 
coal,  copper  and  sulphur  mining,  saw-mill  and  general 
timber  industries  and  turpentine  works,  are  attracting 
large  numbers.  To  this  may  be  added  the  demand  for 
labor  in  the  oyster  industries  of  Maryland  and  Virginia 
and  the  phosphate  mines  of  Florida  and  South  Carolina. 
The  women  are  attracted  by  such  work  as  picking  straw- 
berries, peanuts  and  green  peas  and  the  gathering  of 
sumach. 

In  view  of  these  facts  it  is  not  at  all  surprising  that 
the  negro  should  be  paid  less  for  his  labor  than  the 
white  man  under  the  same  conditions,  but  rather  that 
the  difference  should  be  so  small  as  it  is.  No  accurate 
separation  was  made  of  colored  and  white  farm  labor  in 
the  report  of  the  Agricultural  Department,  but  from  the 
returns  made  the  approximate  wages  were  ^23.75  per 
month,  (without  board),  for  white  labor,  and  $14.25  for 
colored.  With  board  the  rates  were  $16  for  white  labor 
and  $9.75  for  colored.  Since  the  negro  lives  in  comfort 
on  much  less  than  the  white  laborer,  the  lower  wages 
inflicts  no  hardship. 

To  low  wages  for  farm  labor  is  generally  attributed 
the  tendency  of  the  negroes  to  drift  into  the  cities  or  to 


266  American  Economic  Association. 

leave  the  farm  for  the  saw-mill  or  coal  mine.  But  it  is 
a  question  whether  the  change  has  been  an  economic  ad- 
vantage to  the  race.  In  many  directions  it  undoubtedly 
has  not.  In  the  building  of  railroads,  in  public  works, 
in  the  development  of  southern  cities,  or  better,  the 
"  boom  "  towns,  he  was  drawn  into  work  of  only  a  tem- 
porary character.  Railroad  building  in  the  South  dur- 
ing'recent  years  has  come  almost  to  a  standstill.  Since 
1887  the  number  of  miles  constructed  has  steadily  fallen 
off.  During  the  year  1895  only  82  miles  of  road  have 
been  built  in  Georgia,  53  in  Alabama,  32  in  Arkansas, 
25  in  Kentucky,  43  in  Virginia.  In  the  timber  indus- 
try the  work  is  also  less  steady  than  in  general  agricul- 
ture and  truck  farming,  and  the  negro  is  generally 
employed  only  for  a  small  part  of  the  year. 

In  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  al- 
ready referred  to,  an  attempt  was  made  to  ascertain  to 
what  extent  the  freedmen  had  secured  the  ownership  of 
individual  homes.  The  report  states  that  "  so  far  as  re- 
ported the  proportion  of  freedmen  occupying  their  own 
land  is  4  per  cent,  in  Tennessee  and  Alabama,  5  per 
cent,  in  South  Carolina  and  Texas,  between  4  and  5  per 
cent,  in  North  Carolina  and  Georgia,  between  5  and  6 
per  cent,  in  Mississippi,  Louisiana  and  Arkansas,  and  8 
per  cent,  in  Florida.  The  average,  if  it  fairly  represents 
the  unreported  cotton  area,  indicates  that  nineteen  out 
of  twenty  have  no  homes  "  '  [of  their  own].  Since  1876 
no  attempt  has  been  made  by  the  general  government  to 
ascertain  the  proportion  of  the  colored  population  of 
the  agricultural  sections  who  own  and  cultivate  their 
own  land. 

So  far  as  I  know,  the  only  state  in  which  the  informa- 
tion is  collected  and  published  in  a  form  permitting  its 
^  Report  of  Commissiouer  of  Agriculture,  1S76,  p.  137. 


Race  Traits  ajid  Tendoia'es  of  the  American  Negro.  267 

use  in  a  work  of  this  kind,  is  Virginia.'     In  this  state 

the  appraisements  of  real  estate  for  1891  and   1895  give 

in  detail  the  proportion  of  land  owned  by  whites  and 

colored  ;  also  the  value  of  the  land,  the  value  of  the  build- 

j 
ings  on  the  land,  the  value  of  city  lots  and  the  value  of 

buildings  on  city  lots,  x^s  will  be  seen  in  the  following 
brief  abstract  from  the  valuable  reports  of  the  state 
auditor,  the  number  of  acres  and  the  aggregate  value  of 
lands  owned  by  negroes  has  increased  considerably  dur- 
ing the  five  years,  while  the  contrary  is  true  for  the 
white  population. 

ASSESSED  VAI^UATION  OF  LAND  AND   LOTS   OWNED   BY   WHITE   AND 
COLORED  PERSONS  IN  VIRGINIA  IN   1S91  AND  1895. 


Yea 
1 891 
1895 

1S9I 
1895 


Owned  by  Whites. 

Acres  of  Land. 

Assessed 
Valuation. 

Assessed  Value 
Per  Acre. 

25,285,981 

$123,882,236 

$4.88 

25.154,781 

113,129.317 
Owned  by  Colored. 

450 

698,074 

2,938,064 

4.21 

833,147 

3,450,247 

4.14 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  number  of  acres  owned 
by  negroes  has  materially  increased  during  recent  years. 
This  increase  is  in  part  due  to  the  shrinkage  in  values, 
as  a  result  of  which  the  negro  has  been  enabled  to 
buy  land  at  low  prices.  The  possession,  by  negroes 
of  more  than  three-fourths  of  a  million  acres  of  land 
in  one  state  is  an  economic  fact  of  much  significance. 
The  question  is  whether  they  will  make  use  of  their 
land  to  the  same  extent   that  the  whites  do, — a  ques- 

'  Through  the  kindness  of  Col.  Wm.  Wright,  the  state  comptroller 
of  Georgia,  I  am  enabled  to  give  the  following  facts  in  regard  to 
negro  ownership  of  land  in  that  state  which  are  not  published  in  the 
regular  annual  reports  on  the  finances  of  the  state  : 

No.  of  acres  of  land  owned  by  colored  persons,  .    1,038,824  acres 

Aggregate  assessed  value   of  laud, 54, 159,960 

Value  of  horses,  mules,  sheep  and  other  stock,    .  2,288,850 


268  American  Economic  Association. 

tion  that  has  not  as  yet  been  satisfactorily  answered. 
From  all  the  available  facts  it  would  seem  that  as  a 
proprietor  the  negro  produces  only  enough  for  his  own 
wants,  thus  curtailing  the  general  production. 

An  editorial  in  The  Progressive  South.,  May  i,  1894, 
indicates  the  view  held  by  those  who  are  not  in  favor 
of  negro  ownership  of  land  : 

We  cannot  see  any  exalted  place  for  the  negro  in  agriculture.  His 
methods  are  of  the  poorest  and  his  efforts  the  least  intelligent  to  be 
found  throughout  the  South.  It  is  not  possible  to  build  up  waste 
places  either  through  negro  ownership  of  lands  or  through  a  tenant 
S3Stein  which  permits  negroes  to  cultivate  farms  without  supervision 
or  direction  of  a  mind  better  suited  to  the  work.  .  .  .  That  the 
negro  makes  a  good  laborer,  is  acknowledged  by  all  Southern  people, 
when  his  labor  is  under  direction  of  competent  persons.  But  it  is 
seldom  that  sufficient  executive  ability  is  found  in  a  negro  to  permit 
him  to  manage  and  cultivate  even  a  small  farm.  When  his  land  is 
paid  for,  his  labor  becomes  impaired  in  its  value  to  the  community  in 
wliicli  he  lives,  as  he  will  subsist  on  next  to  nothing  and  only  work 
when  necessity  compels. 

The  point  insisted  upon  by  those  who  believe  with 
the  above  writer,  is  the  need  of  an  effective  sup>ervision. 
"  In  the  cultivation,  management  and  harvesting  of  the 
great  staples  of  the  south,  cotton,  sugar,  rice  and 
tobacco,"  writes  Mr,  Killebrew,  former  commissioner  of 
agriculture  of  Tennessee,  "  the  colored  laborers  are  emi- 
nently successful  when  directed  by  intelligent  supervi- 
sion." Mr,  Massey,  whose  favorable  view  of  the  negro 
as  a  laborer  has  been  referred  to,  speaks  of  him  as  "  the 
most  docile  and  tractable  of  all  laborers  and  under  proper 
supervision  the  most  contented  and  profitable."  A  cor- 
respondent of  the  New  York  Evening  Post.,  June  10,  1895, 
quotes  the  superintendent  of  an  Alabama  mine  as  follows  : 
"  There  is  everything  in  knowing  how  to  handle  negroes. 
.  .  .  I  have  a  gang  of  negroes  who  are  as  good  men 
as  I  should  want  to  have  under  me,  but  put  a  man  in 
charge  of  them  who  doesn't  understand  them  and  they 


Race  Traits  and  Te7idencies  of  the  American  Negro.   269 

would  not  be  worth  the  powder  to  blow  them  up."  And 
on  the  same  point  Mr.  Bruce  remarks :  "  An  uninter- 
rupted superintendence  is  necessary  to  their  activity.  A 
gang  of  men  that  will  labor  with  the  most  cheerful  and 
unremitting  industry  under  the  eye  of  a  firm  and  watch- 
ful overseer,  without  requiring  a  word  from  him  to  urge 
them  on,  will,  if  he  withdraws,  begin  at  once  to  lag  .  . 
or  if  they  continue  to  work,  the  effort  will  be  irregular 
and  languishing.'" 

This  supervision  is  practiced  to  the  fullest  extent  on 
the  steamboats  of  the  Mississippi  river,  where  the  ut- 
most amount  of  labor  is  secured  from  '  roust-abouts  '  by 
methods  falling  just  short  of  the  actual  use  of  the  lash. 
But  there  is  no  rebellion,  no  fault  found.  The  work  is 
done  cheerfully  and  effectively.  But  without  constant 
supervision  rapid  and  thorough  work,  such  as  is  needed 
in  the  handling  of  freight,  would  be  impossible  with 
negro  hands. 

The  absence  of  this  supervision,  it  would  seem,  seri- 
ously impairs  the  value  of  the  negro  as  a  tenant  farmer 
or  small  proprietor.  From  personal  observation  I  in- 
cline to  agree  with  the  writer  who  sees  little  benefit 
accruing  to  the  community  from  negro  ownership  of 
land.  As  a  rule  their  "  farms  "  are  such  in  name  only, 
and  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  and  the  condition  of  the 
grounds,  are  of  the  lowest  order.  The  value  of  the 
negro  as  an  agricultural  laborer  becomes  impaired.  The 
small  produce  of  his  farm,  together  with  the  earnings 
of  his  wife  and  children  in  the  peanut  or  strawberry 
season,  enable  him  to  live  in  comparative  comfort,  add- 
ing little  or  nothing  to  the  aggregate  wealth  of  the  com- 
munity. He  lives,  in  a  word,  the  life  of  the  West  India 
peasant  of  whom  Froude  says :    "  The  earth  does  not 

'  "  The  Plantatiou  Negro  as  a  Freeman,"  p.  179. 
18 


270  American  Economic  Association. 

contain  any  other  peasantry  so  well  off,  so  well  cared 
for,  so  liappy,  so  sleek  and  contented."  '  Bnt  in  the 
West  Indies  the  work  is  gradually  passing  into  the  hand 
of  the  imported  coolies,  and  in  our  southern  states  it  is 
only  a  question  of  years  when  the  labor  now  passing 
from  the  hands  of  the  negro  will  fall  to  the  willing 
worker  from  Europe,  or  the  class  of  southern  whites  de- 
scribed 30  years  ago  by  j\Ir.  Cairnes  as  being  below  the 
slaves  in  economic  efficiency." 

The  Neg7'0  as  an  Industrial  Factor. 

Previous  to  emancipation,  the  race  had  little  op- 
portunity to  become  closely  associated  with  industrial 
pursuits.  There  were  colored  mechanics,  slave  and  free, 
on  all  the  plantations,  and  in  the  towns  a  considerable 
amount  of  other  than  agricultural  labor  was  performed 
by  them  on  their  own  account  or  for  the  whites ;  but  it 
was  labor  in  the  non-competitive  sense,  labor  which  had 
little  or  no  relation  to  the  struggle  for  life  and  the  de- 
velopment of  the  qualities  which  would  make  the  negroes 
more  fit  for  the  struggle  which  was  to  come.  But  it 
would  be  a  very  great  error  to  suppose  that  they  had 
not  a  great  many  opportunities  for  the  development  of 
any  latent  industrial  capacities,  had  they  been  disposed 
to  exert  themselves  as  did  the  white  mechanics  and 
common  laborers.  The  following  interesting  and  almost 
unknown  summary  of  occupations  followed  by  the  slave 
and  free  colored  populations  of  Charleston,  nearly  fifty 
years  ago,  will  show  conclusively  that  the  negro  of  ante- 
bellum days  had  as  many,  if  not  more,  opportunities  to 
become  acquainted  with  the  mechanical  arts  and  trades 
than  at  the  present  day. 

'  "The  Engl.sh  iu  the  West  Indies,"  page  7S. 

2  "  The  Slave  Power,"  (London,  1863),  page  358,  et  seq. 


Race  Traits  ayid  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   271 


REPRESENTATION  OF  THE  SLAVE  AND  FREE  COLORED  POPULATIONS 
OF  CHARLESTON,  AMONG  DIFFERENT   OCCUPATIONS. 


(Census  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina, 


Bricklayers 

Carpenters 

Painters  

Plasterers 

Wharf  builders  .  .    .    . 

Barbers  

Bootmakers 

Dry  goods 

Shoemakers 

Tailors 

Bakers 

Butchers 

Confectioners  .    .    .    . 

Cooks 

Fishermen 

Hotel  keepers  .    .    .    . 

Gardeners 

Huxters 

Cigar-makers    .    . 
Tavern  keepers  .    .    . 
Market  dealers  .  .    .    . 
Cabinet-makers   .    .    . 

Tinners 

Upholsterers  ... 

Sextons  

Book-binders    .    .    ,    . 

Printers  

Coachmen 

Coach-makers  .... 
Draymen 

Mantua  makers   .    .    . 

Laundresses 

Seamstresses 

Washerwomen .... 

Cooks  

Tailors 

Fruiters  and  huxters 
Market  sellers  .... 
Hotel  keepers  .... 

Pastry  cooks 

House  keepers  .... 
Monthly  nurses  .  .  . 
Nurses 


Males.  Males. 

Slaves.  Free.                                                     Slaves.  Free. 

68     10  Saddlers 2       i 

no     27  Wheelvyrights i 

9      4  Livery  stable i 

16      .    Boatmen 7 

10  .    Sailors 43       I 

4  14  Ship  carpenters   ...           51       6 

4      3  Millwrights 5 

.    .        I  Blacksmiths 40      4 

2  14  Brass  foundry  workers  i       i 

39     42  Coopers 61       2 

36       I  Mechanics 45       2 

6      4  Apprentices 43     14 

4  2  House  servants .  .    .    .       1,888      9 

3  16  Laborers 838     19 

15     14  Porters 35       5 

.    .        I  Stevedores 2       i 

3      .    Janitors i 

4  Millers I 

5  I  Storekeepers 5 

.    .        I  Wood  factors 3 

.    .  I  Superannuated     and 

8      .        disabled 38       i 

I       I  Total 3,534  264 

I  4  Total  slave  male  popu- 

3  .        lation     between     10 

5  .         and  70  years  of  age  .  3,685 
15  4  Total  free  male  popu- 

3  .        lation    between    10 

67  II       and  70  years  of  age  .                 349 

P'emales.  Females. 

4  128  Servants 3,384     28 

.    .      45  Apprentices 8       7 

20    68  Laborers 378       2' 

33  .    Superannuated     and 

11  .        disabled 54      4 

12  I  Total 3,913  326 

6  4  Total  slave  female pop- 
.    .  I       ulation   between    10 

1  16      and  70  3^ears  of  age  4>463, 
.    .  4  Total  free  female  col- 

2  .        ored  poplation   bet. 

ID       10  and  70  yrs.  of  age  685 


It  is  clearly  shown  in  this  table  that  the  negro  did 
not  lack  opportunity  to  develop  his  latent  abilities  in  the 
field  of  mechanical  industry  ;  and  also  that  he  must  have 


272  American  Econoviic  Association. 

been  possessed  of  a  considerable  degree  of  ability  to  have 
been  thus  extensively  employed  in  all  the  leading  in- 
dustrial pursuits  of  one  important  southern  city. 

A  similar  condition  existed  in  other  southern  cities. 
In  New  Orleans  we  are  informed  by  Mr.  Ingle,  the 
negroes  were  employed  as  car-men,  carpenters,  laborers, 
masons,  planters,  tailors,  merchants  and  shoemakers. 
In  Virginia,  Mr.  Bruce  informs  us,  they  were  extensively 
employed  as  mechanics  on  the  plantations,  principally 
as  smithies,  wheelwrights,  masons,  and  carpenters.  It 
will  be  of  value  to  compare  the  past  with  the  present ; 
which  unfortunately  is  extremely  difficult,  in  view  of 
the  paucity  of  data  on  the  subject  of  the  occupations 
followed  by  the  colored  population  at  the  present  time. 
The  ninth  and  tenth  censuses  contain  nothing  on  the 
subject,  and  up  to  this  writing  no  information  of  the 
kind  has  been  made  public  from  the  returns  of  the 
eleventh  census. 

The  most  important  private  investigations,  to  my 
knowledge,  were  made  by  the  Chattanooga  Tradesman 
in  1889  and  1891,  covering  the  following  points:  Num- 
ber of  colored  men  employed,  number  of  skilled  and 
common  laborers,  wages  paid,  degree  of  efficiency  in 
comparison  with  white  labor,  permanency  of  employ- 
ment in  representative  industries,  gain  in  efficiency, 
benefits  of  education  to  the  younger  generation,  and  the 
effect  of  education  upon  the  negro's  efficiency  as  a 
laborer.^ 

Replies  to  inquiries  covering  the  above  questions  were 
received  from  196  employers  of  negro  labor,  residing  in 
the  South  and  employing  7,395  colored  laborers,  978  of 
whom  were  reported  as  skilled.     The  highest  wages  re- 

^See  The  Tradesman,  (Chattanooga,  Tenn.)  Aug.  15,  1891. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.  273 

ported  as  paid  for  skilled  labor  was  $3  per  day,  the  low- 
est $1.10;  the  average  being  $1.75.  The  highest  wages 
paid  unskilled  laborers  was  $1.50  per  day,  the  lowest  60 
cents,  and  the  average  $1,10.  As  regards  comparative 
efficiency  of  common  and  skilled  labor  as  compared  with 
white  labor  in  the  same  work,  27  employers,  with  1,379 
colored  workers  in  their  service,  see  no  difference  ;  35 
employers  with  1,441  colored  workers,  prefer  white 
labor,  and  49  employers,  with  3,214  colored  laborers, 
prefer  them  to  white  men  in  the  same  capacity. 

In  reply  to  the  question,  "  Is  the  negro  increasing  in 
efficiency?"  67  men  employing  2,413  colored  laborers, 
say  with  emphasis  that  the  efficiency  of  their  workmen 
is  increasing ;  43  men  employing  2,279  colored  laborers, 
say  their  men  have  not  improved ;  15  employers,  speak- 
ing for  1,369  laborers,  were  in  doubt  as  whether  or  not 
there  had  been  any  improvement.  In  reply  to  the  ques- 
tion, "  Does  it  add  to  his  efficiency  to  educate  him  ?"  30 
employers,  speaking  for  2,860  laborers,  answer  that  the 
education  received  by  the  younger  negroes  has  been  of 
benefit  to  them  and  that  it  adds  to  their  efficiency  ;  13 
employers,  speaking  for  392  men,  expressed  no  definite 
opinion,  while  96  employers,  with  3,820  colored  laborers 
in  their  service,  express  the  opinion  that  such  education 
as  the  younger  members  of  the  colored  race  have  received 
has  not  been  of  benefit  to  them,  and  that,  generally 
speaking,  it  detracts  from  a  negro's  efficiency  to  educate 
him. 

The  brief  summary  given  above,  shows  only  imperfectly 
the  results  of  the  investigation.  The  significant  fact  is, 
that  so  many  should  favor  the  negro  as  an  industrial 
worker  in  view  of  the  fault  that  is  found  with  him  as  an 
agricultural  laborer.  An  equally  significant  fact  is  that 
only  21  per  cent,  of  the  employers  should  consider  educa- 


274 


American  Economic  Association. 


tion  an  aid  to  the  negro's  efficiency  as  a  laborer,  while  69 
per  cent,  declare  themselves  convinced  of  its  failnrc  to  in- 
crease his  efficiency.  It  has  been  shown  in  the  preceding 
part  of  this  work  that  education  has  failed  to  improve 
materially  the  moral  condition  of  the  race  ;  we  have  here 

[^the  testimony  of  those  who  come  in  daily  contact  with 
negro  laborers  to  the  effect  that  education  has  failed  to 
benefit  the  race  in  an  economic  sense.  Surely  such  em- 
phatic opinions  must  have  some  substantial  foundation. 
If  education,  as  it  is  at  present  carried  on,  proved  to  be 
of  material  value  to  the  negro,  the  men  who  make  use 
of  this  class  of  labor  would  welcome  any  means  which 
would  increase  his  efficiency  as  an  industrial  worker, 

J  since  such  increased  efficienc}-  would  benefit  alike  em- 

(  ployer  and  employee. 

^"'i  may  give  in  full  some  of  the  views  of  those  who  find 
that  education  has  not  improved  the  efficiency  of  the 
negro.  A  manufacturer  of  furniture  writes  from  North 
Carolina  :  "  Our  observation  is  that  those  who  arc  edu- 
cated endeavor  to  do  without  work,  and  the  effect  is  de- 
moralizing to  those  who  do  labor.  A  limited  education 
might  not  harm  those  who  are  settled,  but  upon  the 
young  we  believe  the  effect  is  to  detract  from  their  use- 
fulness as  laborers."  An  emplo}-er  of  colored  labor  in 
mining  and  milling  ore  in  South  Carolina,  writes  as 
follows :  "  Education  of  the  young  ruins  them.  No 
educated  negro  will  condescend  to  an^-thing  beneath 
teaching  school  and  preaching.  The  educated  negro 
will  not  do  manual  labor  if  he  can  get  bread  and  butter 
in  any  other  manner."  The  writers  here  quoted,  and 
the  great  majority  of  the  69  per  cent,  who  agree  that 
education  has  not  benefitted  the  race  from  an  economic 
standpoint,  unconsciously  emphasize  the  position  of 
M.  Leroy-Beaulieu,  that  the  aim  of  schools  ought  to  be 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   275 

rather  directed  to  the  inculcation  into  the  minds  of  the 
pupils,  if  not  of  contentment  with  their  lot,  at  least  of 
more  modest  ideas,  and  of  resignation  to  manual  labor. 

But  on  the  whole  the  results  of  this  investigation  of  The 
Tradesman  are  favorable  to  the  negro  as  an  industrial 
worker.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  great  majority  are 
unskilled  ;  only  a  small  number  having  so  far  succeeded 
in  filling  the  more  responsible  positions.  In  the  rapid 
development  of  southern  industries  during  the  period 
1880—92,  large  numbers  of  negroes  were  employed  in  the 
coal,  iron  and  phosphate  industry,  and  an  even  larger 
number  found  work  in  the  construction  of  public  works 
and  railways.  Work  on  the  latter  has  practically  come 
to  an  end,  but  in  the  former  he  holds  to-day  an  important 
position  as  a  common  laborer  whose  place  could  only  be 
filled  by  immigration. 

As  regards  remuneration,  it  has  been  shown  that  the 
average  wages  are  $1.10  for  common  and  $1.50  for 
skilled  labor.  According  to  the  investigation  of  The 
Tradesman  the  wages  of  colored  men  are  on  an  average 
about  80  per  cent,  of  those  paid  to  white  men  for  the 
same  class  of  work ;  but  this  difference  should  be 
charged  not  to  discrimination  on  account  of  color,  but 
to  difference  in  efficiency.  The  real  cause  of  the 
difference  in  wages  is  stated  by  the  superintendent 
of  an  Alabama  coal  mine  as  follows  :  "  The  Englishman 
and  the  German  come  to  us  with  some  ambition  to  get 
ahead.  The  negro  has  no  such  aspiration.  If  he  does 
one  extra  good  day's  work  he  feels  so  elated  over  it  that 
he  is  good  for  nothing  the  next  day,  and  probably  stays 
at  home.  On  such  occasions  he  is  always  sick  or  rest- 
ing."^ This  is  the  view  of  one  who  has  '  as  good  a  gang 
of  negroes  as  he  should  want  to  have,'  and  one  who 

'New  York  Evening  Post,  June  24,  1895. 


276  Amen'cafi  Economic  Association. 

thinks  that  the  negro,  properly  handled,  is  of  excep- 
tional value  as  a  laborer  in  the  mine. 

It  would  be  contrary  to  our  common  experience  if  we 
failed  to  meet  with  considerable  opposition  on  the  part 
of  white  laborers  in  the  same  capacity.  During  the 
great  miners'  strike  of  1894  many  conflicts  took  place 
between  the  striking  miners  and  negroes  who  had  been 
brought  from  a  distance  to  take  the  place  of  the  strikers. 
Outbreaks  of  hostilities  have  been  reported  at  various 
times  from  all  parts  of  the  countr>'  between  whites  and 
negroes,  usually  on  account  of  labor  difficulties.  Near 
Dunbar,  Pennsylvania,  a  riot  took  place  between  Hun- 
garians and  negroes,  the  result  of  a  quarrel  of  many 
months'  standing.  At  Spring  Valley,  111.,  Italians  and  ne- 
groes came  to  clash  with  deplorable  results.  At  Black 
Rock,  Ark.,  violence  was  threatened,  and  White  Cap 
methods  resorted  to,  to  drive  negro  laborers  out  of  the 
town  on  account  of  preference  given  them  in  the  saw- 
mills. At  Brookside,  Ala.,  white  and  colored  miners 
came  to  clash  and  four  colored  men  were  killed. 

But  the  most  serious  outbreak  of  last  year  took  place 
during  the  cotton  handlers'  strike  at  New  Orleans.  It  was 
a  question  of  colored  men  being  employed  at  the  same 
work  with  white  men.  After  a  period  of  riot,  murder, 
and  incendiarism,  the  colored  men  gained  their  point 
and  the  white  cotton  screw  men  agreed  to  work  for  any 
employer,  whether  he  employed  union  hands  or  not, 
and  to  work  with  negroes.  The  union  agreed  to  admit 
twenty  gangs  of  negroes  to  membership  and  bound 
itself  not  to  interfere  with  the  working  of  the  negroes. 
The  defeat  of  white  organized  labor  in  this  instance 
was  a  most  valuable  victory  for  the  negro,  since  the  em- 
ployment as  cotton  screwmen  and  other  levee  work  is 
remunerative    and    fairly    constant.      In    East    Boston, 


Race  Traits  and  Tendc7icics  of  the  American  Negro.    277 

Mass.,  colored  stevedores  and  freight  handlers  a  few 
years  ago  took  the  place  of  strikers  on  the  Cunard  ships 
and  ever  since  the  work  has  remained  in  their  hands. 

It  wonld  seem  therefore  that  the  difhculties  arising 
out  of  labor  disputes  will  be  overcome  gradually,  and 
that  the  present  discrimination  in  wages  will  disappear 
as  soon  as  the  negro  acquires  an  equal  degree  of 
efficiency  and  thrift,  and  also  the  habit  of  constant  ap- 
plication to  his  work.  His  efforts  to  adapt  himself  to 
the  modern  conditions  of  southern  life,  especially  in  the 
mining  and  transportation  industries,  would  seem  so  far 
to  have  been  to  his  economic  advantage,  seriously  as  it 
may  have  interfered  with  his  physical  and  moral  well 
being. 

In  the  development  of  one  great  industry  he  has  not 
taken  part.  In  the  cotton  mills  of  the  South  no  negroes 
are  employed  in  any  of  the  skilled  work.  The  question  of 
employment  of  negro  labor  in  the  mills  has  been  very 
frequently  discussed,  but  the  opinion  prevails  generally 
that  while  he  would  possibly  be  as  good  a  mill  hand  as 
a  white  person,  it  would  be  impossible  to  work  a  mill 
with  both  classes  of  labor.  To  use  colored  labor  ex- 
clusively has  been  suggested,  but  it  is  asserted  by  many 
experienced  mill  superintendents  that  this  would  be  im- 
possible. Training  schools  have  been  suggested  but  such 
would  be  costly  and  the  risk  of  failure  would  be  great. 

A  valuable  investigation  into  the  subject  was  made 
by  the  Manufacturers^  Record  of  Baltimore,  in  1893, 
with  the  result  stated  as  follows  :  "  At  the  outset  the 
student  of  this  question  is  inclined  to  condenm  the 
colored  help  as  incapable  of  training  for  cotton  mill 
purposes,  but  it  will  be  seen  from  the  views  expressed 
by  several  managers  of  long  experience  that  colored 
labor  can  be   trained  for  almost  any  work  in  a  cotton 


278  American  Economic  Association. 

mill.  The  substance  of  the  views  of  the  majority  is 
that  in  its  present  condition  the  colored  laborer  of  the 
South  is  totally  unfit  for  cotton-mill  work,  but  under 
favorable  conditions  and  with  suitable  training  this 
labor  can  be  utilized  to  good  advantage.'" 

Some  of  the  expressions  of  experienced  mill  superin- 
tendents may  be  worth  giving  here  in  full.  Mr.  H.  H. 
Hickman,  president  of  the  Graniteville  ]\Tauufacturing 
Co.,  of  Augusta,  Ga.,  writes  as  follows : 

I  do  uot  believe  that  cotton  factories  will  be  run  successfully  by 
negroes  in  this  generation.  Very  few  of  them  will  ever  become  skilled 
laborers  in  a  cotton  mill.  I  employ  a  few  to  do  common  work,  but 
none  are  put  to  a  machine  except  to  feed  the  pickers  ;  this  requires  no 
skill.  White  labor  will  not  work  with  the  negro  at  the  machine. 
You  cannot  mix  them  in  a  cotton  mill  ;  if  employed  they  must  run 
the  mill  alone.  If  we  concede  the  fact  of  capability,  unreliability 
would  be  a  sufficient  cause  for  not  employing  them. 

j\Ir.  William  Entwistle,  superintendent  of  the  Pee 
Dee  Manufacturing  Co.,  Rockingham,  X.  C,  writes  as 
follows : 

We  have  never  had  a  single  application  from  any  colored  person 
for  such  employment,  and  under  no  circumstances  would  we  employ 
them  in  any  department  where  while  girls  are  employed.  Apart  from 
this  we  do  not  think  that  they  are  adapted  to  the  close  confinement  or 
capable  of  conforming  to  the  S3'stem  and  discipline  incident  to  factory 
labor.  We  employ  colored  men  in  the  yard  and  in  the  dye  house.  As 
only  a  few  are  so  employed  we  can  select  from  the  main'  those  best 
suited  for  the  work.  Under  such  circumstances  and  in  such  ca.sesthey 
make  very  good  help.  A  small  proportion  of  them  make  fair  masons, 
bricklayers,  etc.  More  of  them  might,  but  for  their  inherent  indis- 
postion  to  work  more  than  is  necessary  to  procure  a  bare  subsistence. 
.  .  .  Over  twenty  years  of  experience  and  close  observation  in  the 
South  convinces  the  writer  that  industrious  rural  life  is  in  all  respects 
best  suited  to  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  the  negro  colored  race  and 
the  prosperit}-  of  the  country. 

These  opinions  of  experienced  men  are  shared  by  the 
great  majority  of  those  who  are  in  charge  of  cotton  mills. 
The  enormous  development  of  this  industry  in  the  South 

^Manufacturers'  Record,  (Baltimore,  Md. )  Sept.  22,  1S93. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   279 

in  recent  years  has  natnrally  snggested  the  use  of  the 
negro  as  a  factory  worker.  But  so  far  it  would  seem 
that,  leaving  out  a  very  few  localities,  there  is  an  abun- 
dance of  white  labor,  fully  competent  and  reliable. 

The  number  of  persons  employed  in  the  cotton  mills 
of  the  southern  states  increased  from  21,150  in  1880  to 
41,642  in  1890.  The  total  wages  paid  increased  from  $2,- 
750,000  in  1880,  to  $7,1 17,000  in  1890.  In  South  Carolina 
alone  the  number  of  spindles  has  increased  from  82,334 
in  1S80,  to  838,036  in  1895.  This  enormous  develop- 
ment will  explain  the  frequent  allusions  to  the  possibility 
of  colored  labor  in  the  cotton  mills  of  the  South.  Not 
that  the  negro  has  shown  any  inclination  towards 
work  of  this  kind,  but  because  the  promoters  of  such  in- 
dustries in  isolated  parts  of  the  southern  states  have  felt 
doubtful  regarding  the  supply  of  white  labor.  The 
question  may  be  solved,  however,  by  the  erection  of  a 
cotton  mill  at  Aniston,  Ala.,  to  be  owned  and  operated 
entirely  by  colored  persons.  It  is  intended  to  employ 
about  one  hundred  persons  at  the  start.  But  even  if 
successful  the  possible  consequences  of  such  a  forced 
condition  of  negro  labor  give  reason  for  grave  considera- 
tion. From  all  that  has  been  shown  in  regard  to  his 
physical  deterioration  when  in  contact  with  the  forces 
of  competitive  life  in  the  large  cities  and  subject  to  the 
conditions  of  city  life,  it  would  seem  absolutely  certain 
that  the  employment  of  negroes  in  the  cotton  mills 
would  materially  shorten  his  duration  of  life. 

So  far  I  have  taken  into  consideration  only  the  negro 
in  the  South.  If  we  now  consider  the  industrial  capaci- 
ties and  tendencies  of  the  negro  in  the  North,  we  must 
again  draw  our  conclusions  from  very  limited  statistical 
facts. 

In  the  North  the  negro  rarely  cultivates  the  ground. 


28o  American  Economic  Association. 

Few  farmers  employ  negroes  and  the  inclination  of  the 
latter  is  too  strongly  in  the  direction  of  city  life  to  make 
useful  workers  on  the  farm.  It  has  been  shown  in  the  first 
part  of  this  work  that  in  the  North  the  great  majority  of 
negroes  live  in  the  cities,  where  they  are  crowded  into  the 
most  undesirable  sections.  It  would  only  be  in  the  nature 
of  things  that  we  should  find  them  occupied  in  voca- 
tions which  are  in  harmony  with  this  condition  of  life  ; 
that  we  should  find  a  tendency  to  seek  employment 
along  the  lines  that  would  permit  of  the  largest  degree 
of  liberty,  idleness,  and  most  of  all,  mobility.  The  tend- 
ency of  the  negro  to  shift  from  one  occupation  to  another, 
from  one  employer  to  another,  is  nowhere  better  illus- 
trated than  in  the  summary  of  the  principal  occupa- 
tions for  six  fairly  representative  northern  cities. 

From  the  partial  returns  of  the  state  census  of  New 
York  for  1892  it  is  possible  to  obtain  a  fair  idea  of  how 
the  various  occupations  are  distributed  among  the  colored 
population  of  some  of  the  principal  cities.  It  is  much 
to  be  regretted  that  the  information  is  not  available  for 
New  York  city  and  Brooklyn,  as  no  returns  have  been 
made  public  for  these  cities.  In  the  following  table  I 
have  consolidated  the  returns  of  the  occupations  of 
1,314  colored  males  living  in  six  cities  of  the  state. 
Syracuse,  Albany,  Buffalo,  Auburn,  Utica  and  Bingham- 
ton  contain,  according  to  the  census  of  1890,  1,628  colored 
males  over  21  years  of  age  ;  hence  the  number  enumerated 
by  occupations  according  to  the  census  of  1892  may  be  ac- 
cepted as  representing  with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy  the 
working  population  of  the  colored  race  in  those  six  cities. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   281 


REPRESENTATION     OF     COLORED     MAIZES    AMONG    DIEFERENT 

OCCUPATIONS  IN   SIX   CITIES.i 

(New  York  State  Census,  1892.) 


Agents 

Bakers 

Bartenders 

Butchers 

Bootblacks 

Barbers      

Blacksmiths 

Bell  boys  and  men  .   .    . 

Butlers 

Cooks  and  caterers  .  .    . 

Carpenters 

Clergymen 

Cigars  and  Tobacco  .    . 

Clerks 

Coachmen 

Conductors 

Coopers 

Doctors 

Dog  fanciers 

Druggists 

Engineers  (stationary) 
Farmers,  (gardeners)  . 

Glass-workers 

Hotel  keepers 

Hostlers 

Iron-workers    .... 

Janitors 

Kalsominers 

Laborers 

Lawyers 

Lamp-lighters  .... 


I 

I 

34 

I 

28 

8 

358 

I 

I 


Laundry  workers .  . 
Liverymen    .    .    .    . 

Masons      

Managers 

Merchants 

Mattress-makers  . 
Messengers  .  .  ,  . 
Musicians .        .    .    . 

Mechanics 

Machinists  .  .  .  . 
Moulders  ... 

Printers 

Painters 

Peddlers 

Polishers       .    .    ,    . 
Paper-hangers  .  .    . 
Policemen  .... 
Postmen  (carriers) 

Porters 

Shoe-makers    .    .    . 

Stewards 

Tailors 

Tanners 

Teachers   .    . 

Teamsters 

Tinsmiths 

Upholsterers.  .    .    . 

Valets 

Waiters 

Wood-workers  .  .  . 
Not  given 


Total 


I 

I 

72 

I 

2 

3 

337 

2 

52 

l,3U 


1  Eleventh  annual  report  of  the  New  York  state  commissioner  of  labor,  1894. 

Leaving  "  laborers  "  out  of  the  consideration,  we  find 
that  waiters  are  in  the  majority.  Next  come  cooks  and 
caterers,  followed  by  teamsters,  coachmen  and  hostlers. 
If  we  combine  the  last  three  we  have  149  connected  with 
the  care  of  horses.  The  skilled  trades  and  professions 
are  represented  by  very  few.  The  majority  are  employed 
at  occupations  which  require  no  permanent  settlement. 


282  American  Economic  Association. 

A  waiter,  a  barber,  a  cook  or  a  hostler  can  find  work 
almost  anywhere.  The  occupations  selected  are  exactly 
those  that  we  should  expect  to  find  on  the  basis  of  the 
facts  previously  presented.  While  useful  in  their  way, 
these  occupations,  followed  largely  to  the  exclusion  of 
others,  must  affect  the  home  life  and  general  usefulness 
of  the  negro  as  a  factor  in  society.  The  large  variety  of 
occupations  followed  proves  that  he  is  not  lacking  so 
much  in  ability  as  in  inclination,  for  the  trades  in  which 
he  is  only  slightly  represented,  such  as  tailoring,  masonry 
and  carpentry. 

The  argument  that  labor  unions  are  opposed  to  his 
entering  these  trades  has  no  force.  It  only  proves  the 
absence  of  will  power  in  the  individual  to  become  master 
of  his  own  fortune.  Nor  does  this  objection  hold  good 
in  regard  to  such  trades  as  shoe-making  and  tailoring, 
since  the  negro  could  easily  find  work  enough  among 
his  own  people  to  make  these  occupations  remunerative. 
In  Boston  one  of  the  leading  tailors  of  the  city  is  a  col- 
ored man.  Good  colored  shoe-makers  are  not  at  all  rare 
in  the  Soutli,  nor  are  carpenters,  blacksmiths  and  saw- 
mill hands.  In  smithcraft,  we  are  informed  by  Mr. 
Bruce,  the  Virginia  negro  had  a  wide  and  favorable  field, 
but  from  this  occupation  "  the  average  young  negro 
shrinks  with  the  greatest  aversion  as  it  is  the  most  ex- 
acting and  confining  of  all  mechanical  pursuits."  '  In 
the  various  manufacturing  industries,  such  as  the  turn- 
ing out  of  cotton  goods,  hosiery,  men's  clothing,  shirts, 
collars  and  cuffs,  boots  and  shoes,  few  if  any  negroes  are 
employed.  In  the  city  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  there  are 
some  4,000  negroes,  but  not  one  of  them  is  employed  in 
the  thread  works  of  the  Clarks,  employing  some  5,000 
hands.  I  have  investigated  this  matter  in  various  large  es- 

'  "  The  Plantation  Negro  as  a  Freeman  "  ,  p.  233. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   2S3 

tablisliments  in  New  York  and  New  England,  but  I  have 
never  found  an  instance  where  numbers  of  negroes  were 
employed  as  operatives  in  factories. 

It  is  true,  of  course,  that  his  position  is  exceptional 
and  one  which  in  itself  must  produce  many  obstacles 
difficult  to  be  overcome  by  individuals.  But,  generally 
speaking,  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  tendency  on  the 
part  of  the  negro  in  the  large  cities  of  the  North  in  the 
direction  of  indoor  occupations  and  factory  work,  but 
rather  the  tendency  is  in  the  direction  of  the  occupations 
which  allow  him  the  greatest  amount  of  liberty  and  re- 
quire the  least  application  of  continuous  labor,  and 
which  almost  always  will  afford  him  a  means  of  making  a 
living  in  an  humble  way. 

^  A  comparison  might  be  made  between  the  occupations 
followed  by  the  Indians  on  the  New  York  reservations  ; 
but  the  conditions,  of  course,  are  not  exactly  similar. 
In  a  general  way,  taking  the  negro  as  we  find  him,  and 
the  Indian  on  the  state  reservation,  the  comparison  will 
result  in  favor  of  the  latter  along  the  line  of  greater 
economic  usefulness  and  advancement  in  individual 
prosperity.  Out  of  1,738  Indians  employed  in  various 
occupations,  590  were  farmers,  712  laborers,  32  car- 
penters, 10  mechanics,  185  basket  makers,  5  lumbermen, 
etc.  The  Indians  on  this  reservation  cultivated  during 
1889-90,  20,763  acres  of  land,  raised  $97,887  worth  of 
agricultural  produce,  owned  $128,120  worth  of  livestock, 
and  $63,159  worth  of  agricultural  implements.  The 
total  value  of  all  the  lands  owned  by  them  (the  popula- 
tion being  about  5,200)  was  $1,810,700  in  1890,  the 
value  of  personal  property  $1,309,493.  Is  there  a  com- 
munity of  negroes  anywhere  in  the  South  that  can  show 
for  5,000  people  an  aggregate  of  wealth  and  an  amount 
of  productive  labor  surpassing  this  ?     Had  it  been  pos- 


284  Amen'rati  Economic  Association. 

sible  without  curtailing  other  matter,  I  should  have 
been  glad  to  deal  with  the  two  races  at  various  places  in 
this  work,  but  this  would  have  carried  me  beyond  my 
original  purpose.  The  comparison,  whether  it  be  made 
in  the  field  of  criminality,  morality,  industry  or  thrift, 
would  result  invariably  in  favor  of  the  Indian  of  the 
New  York  reservation,  for  whom  but  little  has  been 
done,  of  whom  but  little  has  been  said,  and  for  whom 
few  have  even  a  word  of  kindness  or  regard. 

As  regards  the  difficulties  which  hinder  individual 
colored  men  in  obtaining  employment  in  other  vocations 
than  those  referred  to,  and  which  hinder  women  in  tlie 
field  of  domestic  labor,  they  are  probably  even  greater  in 
the  North  than  in  the  South.  Not  long  ago,  in  a  sermon 
preached  in  the  Trinity  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of 
Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  a  public  plea  was  made  for  the 
employment  of  young  colored  people  in  the  stores  or 
offices  of  the  city.  In  Leavenworth,  Kan.,  a  petition 
was  circulated  among  the  merchants  requesting  them  to 
give  employment  to  colored  young  men  and  women. 
About  a  hundred  colored  families  agreed  to  patronize 
only  those  merchants  who  would  grant  their  petition. 
So  far  as  I  can  learn,  in  neither  of  the  two  instances  was 
the  plea  successful.  In  not  one  of  the  large  department 
stores  of  New  York  city,  Newark  or  Boston,  are  young 
colored  women  employed  as  clerks  or  for  any  other  pur- 
pose. On  none  of  the  surface  railway  lines  of  New  York 
or  New  Jersey  have  I  ever  met  with  a  colored  man  as  an 
employee. 

In  the  professions  the  difficulties  are  even  greater. 
For  a  colored  person  to  secure  a  position  as  a  teacher  in 
one  of  the  public  schools  of  the  large  cities  in  the 
North  is  almost  impossible.  Only  very  recently  a  case 
occurred    in  Jersey    City    where  a  mulatto   woman,    a 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   285 

graduate  of  the  city  high  school,  who  had  passed  a 
satisfactory  examination,  was  most  bitterly  opposed 
when  appointed  to  a  temporary  position  as  a  teacher  in 
a  pnblic  school.  About  the  same  time  a  case  occurred  in 
New  York  where  a  }'oung  mulatto  woman  of  good 
parentage  and  fully  competent  was  refused  an  appoint- 
ment on  account  of  her  color.  Even  an  appeal  to  the 
courts  failed  to  aid  her. 

In  law  as  well  as  in  medicine,  instances  of  such  difficul- 
ties are  not  infrequent.  A  few  years  ago  a  colored  physi- 
cian brought  suit  against  the  Post-Graduate  Hospital  of 
New  York  city  because,  according  to  his  statement,  ad- 
mission was  refused  him  on  account  of  his  color.  In 
another  case  a  young  negro  lawyer  was  refused  admis- 
sion to  a  law  students'  association  of  New  York  city. 

Of  course  such  difficulties  must  prove  a  slight  check 
on  the  aspirations  of  the  race,  yet  only  to  a  very  small 
extent.  The  number  of  young  colored  people  who  have 
been  educated  at  public  schools  or  in  private  institutions, 
and  who  believe  that  they  possess  the  ability  to  cope 
with  whatever  difficulties  may  come  in  their  way,  is  very 
large  and  constantly  growing.  The  experience  of  others 
is  in  this  respect  no  check,  and  thousands  come  every 
year  to  the  cities,  ill-prepared  for  the  struggle  for  life. 
The  same  result  is  met  with  in  every  direction  ;  a  scant 
living  is  eked  out  by  those  who  could  have  lived  in 
comfort  on  the  farms  of  their  fathers.  By  force  of  cir- 
cumstances, by  weakness  of  will  and  by  evil  associations, 
the  majority  are  forced  into  localities  where  vice  and 
crime  are  the  rule  and  virtue  and  honesty  the  exception. 
In  dark  out-of-the-way  places,  in  dingy  alleys,  or  among 
brothels  as  is  the  case  in  Chicago,  it  is  no  wonder  that 
criminals  and  prostitutes  are  common.  Men  and  women 
19 


286  Avierican  Economic  Association. 

who  might  have  lived  useful  aud  happy  lives  ou  the  farm 
or  in  the  small  rural  towns  of  the  South,  are  thus  reduced 
by  thousands  to  the  anti-social  condition  which  the  col- 
ored race  sustains  in  the  large  cities.  Men  and  women 
who  might  have  been  useful  factors  in  the  material  devel- 
opment of  the  nation,  advancing  the  race  as  well  as  their 
own  individual  fortunes,  become  public  burdens  falling 
heavily  on  those  who  have  to  bsar  them.  With  a 
marked  tendency  towards  those  occupations  which 
afford  the  least  guarantee  of  permanency  of  income  and 
development  of  local  attachments,  the  race  is  drifting 
towards  a  condition  which  before  many  years  will  be 
worse  than  slavery.  While  here  aud  there  some  able 
men  of  the  colored  race  have  sounded  the  word  of 
warning  and  have  preached  the  gospel  of  hard  work 
and  self-help,  the  great  majority  of  those  who  have 
undertaken  to  direct  the  fortunes  of  the  negro  race  have, 
through  a  false  education,  diverted  the  tendencies  of 
the  race  in  a  direction  which  must  lead  to  disaster. 

Such  men  as  Professor  Hugh  M.  Browne  of  Washing- 
ton, have  fully  grasped  the  danger.  As  coming  from  a 
colored  man,  the  following  observations  are  deserving 
of  wide  circulation  : 

White  men  have  risen  to  wealth  and  fame  through  the  very  classes 
of  labor  which  we  foolishly  despise  as  menial,  aud  they  are  bringing 
science  and  art  into  these  to-day  and  elevating  them  beyond  our 
reach.  ...  In  my  boyhood  days,  the  household  servants  of  the 
wealthy  in  this  section  of  the  country  were  colored,  but  now  one  finds 
the  trained  white  servants,  versed  in  '  household  science'  and  'domes- 
tic art.'  Then  the  ribbons  of  the  private  equipage  were  held  by 
colored  hackmen,  but  now  they  are  handled  by  the  trained  white 
man,  versed  in  veterinary  science  and  the  social  etiquette  of  his  posi- 
tion. The  walls  and  ceilings  of  their  mansions  received  in  the  spring 
their  pure  white  dress  from  the  white-wash  brush  of  the  colored  man, 
but  naw  they  are  decorated,  frescoed,  etc.,  by  the  skilled  white  artisan. ' 

^Washington  Evening  Star,  Dec,  1893. 


Race  Traits  aiid  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   287 

And  in  another  able  paper  in  The  Tradesmaji  of  Feb. 

15,  1894,  he  writes  : 

Happy  will  be  the  day  for  us  if  we  shall  become  the  preferred 
labor  in  all  classes  of  unskilled  labor.  .  .  .  I  have  always  believed  that 
as  fast  as  we  receive  as  common  laborers  the  plaudit  "  well  done  "  just 
so  fast  will  we  receive  invitations  from  employers  of  skilled  labor  to 
come  up  higher.  .  .  .  The  spirit  of  fair  play  is  too  firmly  rooted  in 
the  white  race  to  permit  them  to  check  the  worthy  and  competent 
efforts  of  another  race  to  rise,  or  to  withold  from  that  race  the  legiti- 
mate rewards  of  these  efforts. 

Unfortunately,  for  the  negro,  the  course  of  the  race 
is  influenced  by  those  who  have  filled  his  mind  with 
false  ideals,  who  commencing  with  '  forty  acres  and  a 
mule,'  have  ended  with  the  prospect  of  an  education  in 
colleges  or  industrial  schools,  not  one  of  which  can  take 
the  place,  not  one  of  which  ever  has  taken  the  place^  of 
the  hard  but  more  useful  school  of  everyday  life  and 
work.  By  the  substitution  of  artificial  conditions,  by 
misdirected  education  and  an  extravagance  of  charity, 
the  race  has  within  thirty  years  been  reduced  to  almost 
the  level  to  which  the  English  poor  sank  through'  the 
workings  of  the  old  poor  law  in  the  thirties. 

Acciumilation    and  Taxaiio?i. 

Statements  as  to  the  aggregate  accumulation  of  prop- 
erty by  the  colored  population  since  the  war  are  freq^uent. 
Estimates  vary  from  |ioo,ooo,ooo  to  1300,000,000  of  tax- 
able values.  In  an  address  delivered  by  Bishop  Peniiick 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  the  amount  is 
given  as  $200,000,000.  In  another  address  by  a  colored 
minister  on  "The  Progress  of  the  Colored  Race,"  de- 
livered in  Baltimore  a  few  years  since,  the  amount  was 
estimated  at  $225,000,000. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  these  statements  are  so  very 
frequently  made,  and  usually  coupled  with  the  assurance 


288  American  Economic  Association. 

"  that  during  thirty  years  no  other  race  ever  made  such 
progress  in  wealth,  culture  and  all  the  other  achievements 
of  civilized  life,"  it  may  be  of  value  to  give  a  few  facts 
as  they  have  been  compiled  from  official  data,  showing 
the  amount  of  taxable  property  owned  by  colored  per- 
sons, the  amount  of  taxes  paid  by  them  and  the  public 
expenses  incurred  in  behalf  of  the  race. 

In  the  first  place,  there  is  absolutely  no  basis  for  a 
statement  of  the  aggregate  wealth  of  the  colored  people 
of  this  country,  since  no  data  are  in  existence  from  wliich 
even  a  safe  estimate  could  be  calculated.  In  only  three  of 
the  southern  states  is  the  information  as  regards  property 
owned  by  negroes  collected  and  published,  and  only  for 
these  three  states,  Virginia,  Georgia  and  North  Carolina, 
is  the  information  obtainable.  But  even  for  these  states, 
only  the  taxable  property  is  listed,  and  no  estimate  can 
be  arrived  at,  with  any  degree  of  accuracy,  as  to  the 
amount  of  untaxed  property  owned  by  the  colored  popu- 
lation of  these  states. 

Before  I  deal  with  the  data  which  have  been  made 
public  by  the  state  auditors  of  the  three  states  mentioned, 
I  wish  to  notice  briefly  one  indication  of  economic  pro- 
gress among  the  colored  population,  to  which,  probably 
on  account  of  its  unfortunate  termination,  reference  is 
rarely  made  in  the  literature  of  the  day  on  the  progress 
of  the  race. 

In  March,  1865,  Congress  incorporated  the  "  Freed- 
man's  Savings  and  Trust  Company,"  and  in  June, 
1874,  the  bank  was  closed.  After  an  existence  of  less 
than  ten  years  the  bank  failed,  with  an  excess  of  liabilities 
over  assets  of  one  and  a  quarter  million  dollars.  The  bank 
was  organized  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  the  economic 
and  commercial  wants  of  the  freed  people,  for  the  safe 
keeping  of  the  pay  and  bounty  money  of  the  colored 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  Amei-ican  Negro.   289 

soldier,  and  other  charitable  purposes.  Among  its  fifty 
incorporators  were  such  men  as  Peter  Cooper,  William 
Cullen  Bryant,  A.  A.  Low  and  many  other  philanthropic 
and  patriotic  citizens.  From  its  modest  beginnings  the 
institution  grew  into  an  institution  of  respectable  pro- 
portions and  large  influence,  extending  all  over  the 
South  by  means  of  branch  offices,  reaching  during  the 
period  of  its  active  operations  more  than  seventy  thous- 
and depositors,  and  handling  more  than  fifty-five  million 
dollars  of  deposits. 

The  bank  failed  on  account  of  the  inefficiency  and 
dishonesty  of  the  management.  An  amendment  to  the 
charter  had  been  obtained  from  Congress  in  1870,  which 
embodied  a  radical  and,  as  subsequent  experience  proved, 
hurtful  change  in  the  character  of  the  securities  in  which 
the  trustees  were  empowered  to  invest  the  deposits  of  the 
institution.  The  change  opened  the  way  for  speculative 
loans,  offered  opportunities  for  easy  infidelity  to  official 
trust,  and  invited  a  class  of  borrowers  hurtful  and 
dangerous  to  any  fiscal  institution. 

It  was  brought  out  in  the  official  investigation  by  a 
special  committe  of  the  Senate,^  that  the  funds  of  the 
bank  had  been  used  for  private  purposes,  that  loans  had 
been  made  which  on  their  face  bore  the  evidence  of  be- 
ing insecure  and  made  in  the  interest  of  the  borrower 
instead  of  the  lender.  When  the  crash  came  at  least  one 
and  a  quarter  million  dollars  were  lost  to  the  ignorant  and 
innocent  depositors,  many  of  whom  had  their  all  de- 
posited in  the  bank,  the  security  of  which  they  thought 
was  guaranteed  by  the  government."     How  far  the  bank's 

'  Report  of  the  select  committee  of  the  Senate,  Forty-sixth  Con- 
gress, 2nd  session,  1880. 

'Through  the  kindness  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  in 
charge  of  the  liquidation  of  the  affairs  of  the  failed  bank,  I  am  able 
to  give  the  following  additional  facts.     At  the  time  of  the  company's 


290  American  Economic  Association. 

influence  extended,  how  largely  the  colored  people  availed 
themselves  of  the  opportunity  for  investing  small  savings 
and  had  faith  in  the  security  it  ofiFered  for  their  hoarded 
sums,  is  seen  in  the  following  table,  showing  the  aggre- 
gate amount  deposited  each  year  as  well  as  the  annual 
gain. 

BUSINESS  OF  THE  FREEDMEN'S  SAVINGS  BANK,   1S66-1S72.1 


Total  Amount 

Deposit  Each 

Balance  Due 

Gain  Each 

Years. 

of  Deposits. 

Year. 

Depositors. 

Year. 

1866    .    .    . 

%       305.167 

%       305.167 

1     199.283 

5   199.283 

1S67    .    .    . 

1.624,853 

i,3'9.686 

366,338 

167.054 

186S    .    .    . 

3.582,378 

1.957,525 

638,299 

271,960 

1869    .    .    . 

7.257,798 

3.675.420 

1,073.465 

435.166 

1870    .    .    . 

12,605,782 

5.347.983 

1,657,006 

583.541 

1S71    .    .    . 

19.952,947 

7,347.165 

2,455.836 

798.829 

1872    .    .    . 

31,260,499 

11,281,313 

3.684.739 

1,227.927 

1873    .    .    . 

4,200,000 

1874^.    .    . 

55,000,000 

3.013.670 

•Senate  Report,  No.  440,  46th  Congress,  2nd  session,  p.  41,  Appendi.v. 
2  Bank  failed  in  1874. 

The  table  is  complete  to  the  year  1872.  The  balance 
due  depositors  in  1873  was  $4,200,000,  representing  the 
accumulated  savings  of  less  than  eight  years.  The  total 
amount  that  had  been  deposited  to  the  end  of  1872  was 
over  $31,000,000  ;  by  the  end  of  1874,  when  the  failure 
came,  over  $55,000,000  had  been  on  deposit  in  the  bank 
at  one  time  or  another.  While,  therefore,  the  remnant  was 
not  so  very  large,  the  sphere  of  influence  of  the  bank  as 
an  educator  in  thrift  must  have  been  very  great. 

The  faith  of  the  depositors  in  the  bank  was  implicit, 
and  the  reports  issued  by  the  bank  gave  not  the  slightest 
hint  of  possible  danger.  In  1872  when  the  bank  was 
practically  insolvent,  the  seventh   annual  report  closed 

failure  in  1874,  it  consisted  of  33  branches  with  61,131  depositors,  and 
the  balance  due  these  depositors  at  the  time  was  13,013.699  .  .  .  . 
The  total  payments  to  March,  1896,  were  $1,722,548,  leaving  a  bal- 
ance unpaid  of  $1,291,121.  The  present  cash  balance  in  the  hands  of 
the  government  receivers  amounts  to  $30,476. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   291 

with  the  following  remarks :  "  There  are  no  stock- 
holders in  this  company,  and  all  of  the  profits,  over  and 
above  expenses,  go  at  each  interest  day  to  the  credit  of 
the  depositors'  interest.  .  .  .  The  past  history  of  the 
bank  is  a  matter  of  just  pride  to  all.  .  .  .  trustees  and 
depositors  alike.  .  .  and  its  future  is  full  of  promise. 
Before  the  next  annual  meeting  we  shall  be  able  to  re- 
port five  million  dollars  due  depositors."  Less  than 
two  years  after  this  was  written  the  bank  failed  and 
with  its  failure  went  the  confidence  of  a  large  body  of 
colored  people  in  institutions  for  savings. 

Not  that  the  amount  lost  was  so  very  great  :  to  the 
average  depositor  the  loss  was  probably  small ;  but  it 
was  the  wrecked  hopes,  the  loss  of  faith  in  thrift  and 
accumulation  as  a  means  towards  improvement  of  their 
humble  condition,  that  injured  the  race  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  its  effects  will  be  felt  through  several  genera- 
tions. 

For  the  crimes  thus  committed  against  a  helpless 
people,  no  one  seems  ever  to  have  been  punished.  An 
investigation  was  made  into  the  conduct  of  the  officials, 
but  the  president  and  the  actuary  of  the  bank  had  in 
the  meantime  died,  and  the  other  persons  sharing  the 
responsibility,  so  far  as  they  came  before  the  Senate 
committee  to  be  questioned,  pleaded  forgetfulness  or 
ignorance  of  the  violated  law,  or  good  intentions  and 
philanthropic  motives,  and,  all  other  excuses  failing, 
placed  the  responsibility  for  all  questionable  acts  upon 
their  dead  associates.' 

Previous  to  emancipation,  the  slaves  and  freed  people 
of  color  owned  but  a  small  amount  of  property.  The 
ownership  of  land  to  any  extent  by   slaves  was  out  of 

'  Report   of  the   select   committee   of    the   United   States   Seuate, 
1880)  p.  vi. 


292  American  Economic  Associaiion. 

the  question  and  no  institutions  for  savings  existed  to 
encourage  thrift  in  this  direction.  Many,  however,  ac- 
cumlated  a  sum  sufficiently  large  to  purchase  their  own 
freedom  ;  and  since  the  value  of  a  slave  was  considerable 
during  the  last  twenty  or  thirty  years  of  slavery,  their 
capacity  for  self-denial  for  a  future  end  was  of  considera- 
ble economic  importance.  Of  course  the  underlying 
motive  in  this  habit  of  thrift  was  the  desire  for  bodily 
freedom,  in  contrast  with  the  underlying  motive  of 
modern  thrift,  economic  freedom. 

We  have  no  information  for  years  previous  to  1879  ^^"^ 
regard  to  the  accumulation  of  property  by  the  colored 
population  of  any  southern  state.  But  since  1879  the 
information  is  available  for  Georgia,  although  the  data 
refer  only  to  taxable  values  and  not  to  propert}'  in 
general.  In  none  of  the  last  three  census  enumerations, 
dealing  with  wealth,  debt  and  taxation,  has  an  effort 
been  made  to  obtain  information  on  this  most  important 
point.  Hence  the  statistics  for  Georgia,  as  a  representa- 
tive southern  state,  extending  over  a  period  of  nearly 
twenty  years,  are  of  more  than  ordinary  interest  and 
value.  For  the  purpose  of  comparison  the  amount  of 
property  owned  by  white  persons  is  also  given  in  the 
table  below,  which  covers  the  period  1 879-1 895. 


Race  Traits  a7id  Teiideticies  of  the  American  Negro.   293 

ASSESSED   VALUATION   OF  PROPERTY  OWNED  BY  WHITE  AND  COL- 
ORED PERSONS  IN  GEORGIA,  1879-1895.1 


Whites.  Colored. 

1879 $219,911,021  %  5,182,398 

iSSo 233,i69,8:,3                        5.764,293 

1881  •    • 247,773,679                         6,478,951 

1882 261,930,100                         6,589,876 

1883 277,300,555                         7.582,395 

1SS4 286,863,845                        8,021,525 

1SS5 290,993,408                         8,153,390 

1SS6 297,852,280                         8,655,298 

1S87 316,605,329                         8,939,479 

1S88 318,232,060                         9,631,271 

1S89 335,523.507  10,415.330 

1890 365,044,781  12,322,003 

1891 388,389,733  14,196,735 

1S92 406,189,434  14,869,575 

1893 410,644,753  14,960,075 

18^ 388,428,748  14,387,730 

1895 370,739,521  12,941,230 

1  Reports  of  the  Comptroller  Geueral  of  Georgia. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  1879  the  aggregate  amount 
of  taxable  property  owned  by  colored  persons  was 
slightly  ill  excess  of  five  million  dollars.  We  may 
properly  consider  this  amount  as  representing  the  ac- 
cumulations during  tlie  period  1865-79,  °^  during  a 
period  of  about  fifteen  years.  In  1894  the  aggregate 
amount  was  in  excess  of  14  million  dollars,  or  about  ten 
million  dollars  above  the  amount  for  1879.  Hence  if 
the  period  1865-79  ^^  represented  as  the  first  period  of 
freedom,  and  the  last  fifteen  years  the  second  period, 
we  have  an  indication  that  the  rate  of  increase  in  wealth 
during  the  last  period  was  twice  that  of  the  first.  Of 
course  in  this  calculation  no  account  is  taken  of  the  in- 
crease in  population. 

To  represent  more  clearly  the  rate  of  increase  in 
\tealth  and  at  the  same  time  the  contrast  with  the 
wealth  of  the  w-hite  population,  I  give  in  the  table  below 


294  Americaji  Eco7iomic  Association. 

the  per  capita  wealth  for  the  two  census  years  1880  and 
1890. 

ASSESSED  VALUATION  OK  PROPERTY  AND  PER  CAPITA  VALUATION 
IN  18S0  AND    1S90. 


White  Population. 
Population.  Value  of  Property.  Per  Capita, 

1880 816,906  $233,170,000  I285.40 

1890 973-462  365,044,781  374-90 

Colored  PopuUition. 

1880 725,133  5.764.293  7-95 

1890 863,716  12,322,003  14.26 

According  to  this  table  the  per  capita  value  of  assessed 
wealth  has  increased  from  $285.40  to  $374.90  for  the 
white  population,  and  from  $7.95  to  $14.26  for  the  col- 
ored, during  the  ten  years,  1880-90.  For  every  dollar 
owned  by  the  colored  people,  the  whites  own  and  pay 
taxes  on  about  $27  ;  and  of  the  aggregate  wealth  owned 
by  both  races,  the  colored  in  1879  owned  2.3  per  cent., 
and  in  1892,  3.5  per  cent.  The  percentage  of  colored  in 
total  population  was  47.02  in  1880,  and  47.01  in  1890. 
The  disparity  between  the  ratios  of  wealth  and  popula- 
tion is  seen  to  be  still  very  great,  and  it  is  also  shown 
that  even  an  addition  of  $10,000,000  in  wealth  during 
the  period  1879-92  has  affected  but  slightly  the  percent- 
age of  wealth  owned  by  negroes.  To  this  must  be  added 
the  fact  that  during  the  period  1891-94  only  slight 
additions  have  been  made  to  the  aggregate  value  of 
property  owned  by  the  colored  population.  The 
disparity  between  the  wealth  of  the  whites  and  that 
of  the  colored  is  still  very  great.  While  progress  has 
been  made,  and  some  property  has  been  accumulated, 
the  colored  race  holds  but  a  very  small  share  of  the 
aggregate  public  wealth  in  Georgia  ;  and  we  shall  find 
the  same  condition  prevailing  in  the  two  other  states 
for  which  the  facts  are  available. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   295 

For  the  state  of  Virginia  the  data  as  to  property  owned 
by  colored  persons  has  been  made  public  since  1891  in 
such  detail  that  a  more  complete  view  of  the  economic 
condition  of  the  race  is  possible  for  this  state  than  for 
any  other.  In  the  table  below  I  have  brought  together 
the  returns  of  the  state  auditor  for  five  years,  showing 
for  both  races  the  aggregate  amounts  of  taxable  values 
on  both  real  and  personal  property. 

ASSESSED  VALUATION  OF  PROPERTY  IN  VIRGINIA,  1891-1895.1 


Owued  by  White  Persons. 

Real  Estate.           Personal  Property.  Total. 

1891 1286,192.615     1^93,5  6,029  1379,708,644 

1892 291,292,281                  92,525,131  383,817,41;! 

1893 296,371,055                  90,373.044  386,744,099 

1894       ....                     300,038,625                  S3.349.044  383.387,669 

1895' 291,308.592                  79,955.026  361.263,618 

Owned  by  Colored  Persons. 

1891 8,995,514                    3,094,451  12,089,965 

1892 9,425,085                    3,342,950  12,768,035 

1893 9.829.583                    3.465.370  13.294.953 

1894 10,162,889                    3,241,144  13,404,033 

1895'  •    .     ■     •    • 10.759.548 3.^74.450  13.933.998 

1  Reports  of  the  auditor  for  public  accounts,  1891-1895. 
-  Re-assessment. 

The  table  shows  that  the  whites  in  1895  owned  361.2 
million  dollars  worth  of  real  and  personal  property  listed 
for  purposes  of  taxation,  while  the  aggregate  wealth  of 
the  negroes  is  given  at  13.9  millions.  Of  the  total  wealth 
of  both  races  the  negroes,  therefore,  in  1891  owned  2)-'^  per 
cent.,  or  0.4  per  cent,  less  than  the  proportion  for  Georgia. 
The  per  capita  wealth  in  1891,  according  to  the  fore- 
going figures,  was  approximately  $374.20  for  the  whites, 
and  $18.90  for  the  colored  population.  While  the  whites 
of  Virginia  and  Georgia  have  about  the  same  amount  of 
taxable  values  per  capita,  the  colored  population  of 
Virginia  shows  $4.60  per  capita  more  than  the  colored 
population  of  Georgia. 


296  A??icrica?i  Economic  Association. 

The  distribution  of  the  accumulated  wealth  of  the  two 
races  in  Virginia,  according  to  various  kinds  of  real 
property,  is  given  in  the  table  below,  which  shows  the 
amounts  assessed  against  lands,  houses  on  lands,  lots  and 
houses  on  lots,  together  with  the  number  of  acres  of  land 
owned  and  the  proportion  of  each  class  of  property  to  the 
aggregate  amount  of  real  property.  A  comparison  is 
also  made  for  the  two  years,  1891  and  1895  ;  but  the 
period  is  rather  too  short  to  afford  a  clue  as  to  the 
tendency  of  the  colored  population  in  the  accumula- 
tion of  real  property. 

COMPARATIVE  VALUATION   OF    REAL   PROPERTY   OWNED    BY   WHITE 
AND  COLORED  PERSONS  IN  VIRGINIA,  1891  AND  1895. 


Owned  by  White  Persons. 

No.  acres  of  laud  . 

1S91. 
25,285.981 

Percent- 
age of 
Total. 

1S95. 
25.154,781 

Percent- 
age of 
Total. 

Value  of  laud  .    . 

$123,497,236 

43.28 

$113,129,317 

38.S3 

Value  of  bldgs.  on 

land, 

39.362,942 

13-75 

40.408,200 

i.3-«7 

Value  of  town  lots 

52.:,9o,S94 

18.3S 

63.074,643 

21.65 

Value  of  bldgs.  on 

lots, 

7o,356,.543 

2459 

74,696.432 

25-65 

Total  value  .... 

286,192,615 

700  00 

2QI.308,5Q2 

100.00 

Owned  by  Colored  Persons. 

No.  acres  of  laud  . 

698,074 

833.147 

Value  of  laud  .    . 

2,938,064 

32.66 

3,450,247 

32.06 

Value  of  bldgs.  on 

land, 

1,39.3.766 

1549 

1.909. 154 

17-74 

Value  of  town  lots 

1,954.394 

21.73 

2,142,196 

19.92 

Value  of  houses  on 

lots  . 

2,709.290 

30.12 

3-257.951 

30.28 

Total  value  .... 

8,995,514 

100.00 

10,759.548 

100.00 

It  is  shown  in  this  table  that  in  1891  the  whites 
owned  25,285,981  acres  of  land,  decreasing  their  hold- 
ings to  25,154,781  acres  in  1895.  The  colored  popula- 
tion owned  698,074  acres  in  1891  and  increased  their 
holdings  to  833,147  acres  in  1895.  In  1891  the  wdiites 
owned  97.3  per  cent,  of  the  aggregate  acreage  as  against 
96.8  per  cent,  in  1895. 

The    increase    in    the    ownership    of    land    held    by 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   297 

negroes  in  this  state  has  previously  been  referred  to.  It 
is  here  shown  that  during  the  depressed  condition  of  ag- 
riculture the  colored  population  has  been  gaining  by 
what  the  whites  have  lost.  That  is,  the  increase  in  the 
holdings  of  the  colored  population  has  been  due  not  so 
much  to  an  increase  in  the  aggregate  acreage  by  a 
utilization  of  former  waste  lands,  as  to  purchase 
for  cash  or  on  time,  of  the  land  formerly  under  culture 
by  the  white.  Of  the  aggregate  taxable  values  of  real 
estate,  the  whites  ov/ned  57  per  cent,  in  agricultural 
values  (lands  and  houses)  in  1891,  and  only  52.7  per 
cent,  in  1S95,  showing  a  decrease  of  4.3  per  cent. 
or  an  increase  by  that  much  of  the  values  of  city  real 
estate.  The  colored  people's  taxable  accumulations  con- 
sisted of  48.2  per  cent,  in  agricultural  values  in  1891,  and 
49.8  per  cent,  in  1895,  showing  an  increase  of  rural  over 
urban  valuation  of  nearly  two  per  cent.  Hence  during 
the  past  five  years  the  tendency  among  the  colored 
population  has  been  in  the  direction  of  acquiring  agri- 
cultural property  rather  than  lots  and  houses  in  town, 
whereas  among  the  whites  the  tendency  has  been  the 
other  way.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  this  condi- 
tion will  be  persisted  in  under  more  favorable  conditions 
as  regards  the  returns  from  labor  upon  the  land  in  this 
state.  In  view  of  the  considerable  migration  of  negroes 
from  the  country  to  the  cities,  it  is  remarkable  that 
those  who  remained  in  the  country  should  have  been 
able  to  acquire  and  to  keep  as  much  property  as  the  re- 
turns show  they  actually  hold. 

In  North  Carolina  the  assessment  of  1891  gave  the 
value  of  real  and  personal  property  owned  by  each  race 
in  that  state.  According  to  the  reports  of  the  state 
auditor,  the  whites  owned  $234,109,000  worth  of  taxa- 
ble property,  while  the  negroes  owned  a  little  in  excess 


298  American  Economic  Association. 

of  $8,000,000.  Or,  of  the  aggregate  taxable  wealth, 
the  negroes  owned  about  t,.;^  per  cent.  The  per  capita 
wealth  of  the  whites  was  $223.10  and  of  the  negroes 
$14.10.  The  returns  for  this  state  as  well  as  those  for 
Georgia  and  Virginia  have  been  consolidated  in  the 
table  below  for  the  purpose  of  easy  comparison.  The 
general  agreement  of  the  figures  supports  the  claim  that 
the  ofRcial  data  are  approximately  correct  in  their  rep- 
resentation of  the  taxable  wealth  of  the  negro  in  these 
three  states. 

COMPARATIVE    VALUATION    OF   TAXABLE   PROPERTY   OWNED    BY 
WHITE   AND    COLORED  PERSONS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA,   iSoi. 


Whites. 

Colored. 

Percentage  of 
Total  Property 
Owned  by  Col- 
ored Persons. 

Per  Capita 
Value  of  Prop- 
erty Owned. 
Whites.     Cord. 

N.  Carolina,  1S91 

$234,109,568 

$  8,018,446 

3-3 

5223.1     5 '4- I 

Virginia,    i.Sqo  . 

379,708,644 

12,089,965 

3-1 

374  2       18.9 

Georj^ia,   1890    . 

365,044,781 

12,322,003 

3-5 

374-9       143 

Three  states 

978,862,993 

32,430.414 

3-2 

322.3       15-7 

In  the  three  states  the  whites  own  978  million  dollars 
worth  of  taxable  property  as  compared  with  32  million 
dollars  worth  owned  by  the  negroes.  The  per  capita 
wealth  is  $322  for  the  whites  and  about  $16  for  the 
negroes.  Of  the  aggregate  the  colored  population  owns 
3.2  per  cent. 

It  is  shown  in  this  summary  that  there  are  only  slight 
differences  between  the  three  states  as  regards  the  pro- 
portion of  wealth  owned  by  the  colored  population. 
The  per  capita  is  largest  in  Virginia  and  lowest  in 
North  Carolina.  The  largest  per  capita  wealth  of  the 
whites  is  in  Georgia,  and  the  lowest  in  North  Carolina. 
The  total  white  population  of  the  three  states  is 
S^'^Sy^SSS^  the  colored  2,071,755.  Hence  with  40.5  per 
cent  of  the  population  the  negroes  own  only  $3.20  out 


Race  Traits  and  Tende7icies  of  the  American  Negro.   299 

of  every  hundred  dollars  of  taxable  wealth  in  these 
three  states.  The  claim  of  an  aggregate  valuation  of 
one  hundred  million  dollars  is  probably  based  on  this 
average,  since  a  per  capita  of  $15.70  applied  to  the  ag- 
gregate colored  population  of  the  southern  states  would 
give  about  no  million  dollars.  But  it  is  extremely 
doubtful  whether  this  average  would  hold  good  for  all 
the  southern  states.  For  such  states  as  Mississippi, 
Louisiana  and  South  Carolina,  the  average  per  capita 
wealth  is  probably  much  less  than  for  Georgia  and  Vir- 
ginia, 

But  valuable  as  these  figures  are  in  indicating  how  far 
there  may  be  a  tendency  to  a  higher  economic  stage, 
the  data  are  insufficient,  and  fall  far  short  of  presenting 
a  true  picture  of  the  economic  progress  of  the  race. 
The  aggregate  amount  of  taxable  values  is  only  one 
measure  of  economic  progress.  The  amount  of  taxes  act- 
ually paid,  not  merely  on  the  property  assessed,  but  also 
from  other  sources  is  even  more  significant.  And  in  addi- 
tion to  this  we  should  know,  for  a  full  and  comprehen- 
sive view  of  the  negro  as  an  economic  factor  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  South,  the  proportion  that  he  bears  of 
the  public  burdens. 

It  is  only  for  the  state  of  Virginia  that  these  import- 
ant questions  can  be  answered  with  any  degree  of  ex- 
actness. For  North  Carolina  my  information  is  limited 
to  the  amount  of  taxes  paid  for  school  purposes  only. 
In  Virginia  taxes  are  paid  on  real  estate  and  personal 
property,  on  incomes  over  $600  per  annum,  and  a  capita- 
tion tax  on  males  over  21  years  of  age.  The  aggregate 
amounts  received  from  these  sources  are  given  in  the 
table  below,  which  covers  the  five  years  1891-95. 


300  Af?iericaii  Economic  Association. 

AMOUNT  OF  TAX  ON  REAL  ESTATE,  PERSONAL    PROPERTY   AND 
INCOMES  ASSESSED  IN  VIRGINIA,  1891. 

Assessed  Taxes. 
White  Population.  Colored  Population. 

iSgt     I'. 796,576  $163,175 

1892  ....  .   .  1,816,134  171,144 

1893  1,824,153  ^72,391 

1894 1,807.698  172,124 

1895        1,808,234  174,808 


The  above  table  show.s  the  assessed  taxes  only.  It  will 
be  observed  thatwdiile  the  whites  in  1895  were  assessed  for 
$1,808,234  of  taxes,  the  colored  population  were  asses.sed 
for  only  $174,808.  It  is  not  possible  to  give  the  exact 
amount  of  taxes  actually  paid,  but  I  have  been  favored 
with  an  explanatory  letter  from  Mr.  INIorton  ]\Iarye,  the 
auditor  of  public  accounts  of  Virginia,  wdiicli  enables 
me  to  present  the  following  facts  bearing  on  this  point. 

Of  the  total  taxes,  those  assessed  on  real  and  personal 
property  as  well  as  on  incomes  are  practically  all  col- 
lected, but  of  the  capitation  taxes  a  large  proportion  is 
not  collected.  In  1895,  the  whites  failed  to  pay  $55,233 
of  the  capitation  tax,  or  23.6  per  cent,  of  the  total  capi- 
tations assessed  against  them,  while  the  negroes  failed 
to  pay  $57,925  or  48.3  per  cent.  If  we  compare  the 
unpaid  taxes  wath  the  aggregate  of  taxes  assessed  for 
all  purposes  we  have  the  following  result. 

APPROXIMATE  AMOUNT  OF  TAXES  PAID  BY  EACH    RACE  IN  VIR- 
GINIA, 1895. 

Total  Assessed    Unpaid  Capita-  Taxes  Percentage  of 

Taxes.  tion  Taxes.  Paid.  Taxes  Paid. 

Whites.    .  11,808,234  I55.233  $1,753,001  964 

Colored.   .  174,818  57,925  116,893  66.8 

Of  the  aggregate  amount  of  taxes  paid,  only  6.2  per 
cent,  w^as  paid  by  the  negroes,  although  they  form  38 
per  cent,  of  the  total  population.     On  the  basis  of  the 


Race  Traits  and  Tcndcyicics  of  the  American  Negro.   301 

census  of  1890  the  per  capita  taxes  paid  by  the  whites 
amounted  to  $1.75,  as  against  a  per  capita  tax  of  only 
18  cents  paid  by  the  colored  population  of  the  state. 
The  economic  consequences  of  this  anomaly  can  hardly 
be  overestimated. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  unpaid  taxes  fall  largely 
on  the  assessed  capitations,  and  it  may  be  of  value  to 
know  the  proportion  of  capitations  to  the  whole  amount 
of  assessed  taxes.  The  following  table  will  show  for 
the  year  1895,  the  proportion  of  each  class  of  assessed 
taxes  to  the  aggregate  amount  assessed.  The  table 
affords  other  valuable  information,  especially  with 
respect  to  taxes  on  incomes,  which  it  will  be  observed 
amounted  to  only  $16  for  the  colored  population  in  1895.^ 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  ASSESSED  TAXES  IN  VIRGINIA,  1895. 

White  Percentage      Colored  Percentage 

Kind  of  taxes.                       Population.  of  Total.    Population.  of  Total. 

Real  estate $1,210,688  66.95         %  41,823  23.92 

Capitation 234,268  12.95           120,152  68.73 

Personal  Property .   .               320,269  17.72             12,827  7-34 

Income 43,009  2.38                    16  i 

Total $1,808,234         100.00        $174,818       100.00 

It   is   shown   in   the  above  table  that  of    the  total 

taxes    for   the    white    population,    12.95  P^^   ^^^t-    ^^^ 

assessed  on  capitations,   and  for  the  colored  68.73  P^^ 

cent.     That    is    to    say,    the  kind  of  tax    most   easily 

evaded  comprises  almost  two-thirds  of  the  total  assessed 

taxes    of    the   colored  population,    and  as  a  result  we 

find  that  the  amount   of  public  revenue  is  materially 

reduced  by  the  non-payment  of  the  capitation  tax.    For 

the  whites  only  about  one-fifth  of  the  total  is  assessed 

^  Besides  the  taxes  enumerated  in  this  table,  the  state  assessed  taxes 
upon  railroads,  insurance  companies,  banks,  and  license  taxes,  to  the 
aggregate  amount  of  $1,136,603,  all  of  which  is  collected,  and  of  which 
the  colored  people  practically  pay  nothing. 


302  American  Ecoyiomic  Association. 

on  capitations,  and  the  non-payment  of  the  amount 
given  affects  the  aggregate  returns  to  a  much  smaller 
degree.  Thus  the  proportion  of  tlie  public  burden 
borne  by  the  colored  race  comes  down  in  final  analysis 
to  a  per  capita  tax  of  only  iS  cents. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  of  the  income  taxes,  the  whites 
paid  $43,009  ;  while  the  colored  population  paid  only  $16, 
this  amount  coming  from  Richmond,  and  Charlotteville, 
and  Chesterfield  county.  The  tax  on  incomes  is  one  dol- 
lar for  every  hundred  in  excess  of  six  hundred  dollars  ; 
hence  in  only  two  cities  and  one  county  were  there  found 
negroes  who  paid  tax  on  incomes  in  1895  exceeding  $600. 
Of  course  there  are  hundreds,  perhaps  thousands,  whose 
incomes  exceed  this  amount,  and  the  fact  that  the  tax 
is  not  paid  shows  that  the  class  of  the  colored  popula- 
tion of  which  we  hear  so  much  in  the  newspapers  and  ser- 
mons, the  class  who  it  is  claimed  have  made  such  excep- 
tional individual  progress,  accumulating  wealth  any- 
where from  five  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  are  wanting  in  that  sense  of  public  morality 
which  demands  that  a  man  shall  pay  the  taxes  which  his 
income,  property  or  political  privileges  impose  upon  him. 

Income  taxes  have  always  been  disliked  and  no 
doubt  there  are  thousands  of  the  whites  wdio  do  not  pa}- 
them.  But  it  must  be  taken  into  consideration  that  the 
whites  pay  a  larger  proportion  of  taxes  on  real  and 
personal  property,  and  further  that  of  the  capitation  tax 
only  23  whites  per  100  fail  to  pay,  as  against  48  negroes. 
The  amount  of  the  income  tax  has  declined  in  recent 
years,  and  the  decline  for  the  colored  race  has  reduced 
the  amount  to  practically  nothing.  Only  about  a 
year  ago  a  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Sun  in  an 
article  on  the  negro  section  of  Richmond,  gave  a  list  of 
12    colored    persons    whose    aggregate   wealth,  it   was 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   303 

stated  exceeded  a  quarter  of  a  inillion  dollars.  There 
was  one  woman  who  was  said  to  own  $150,000 
worth  of  property,  and  five  cases  were  given  where  men 
owned  more  than  $10,000  worth;  3'et  only  $1.75  was 
paid  in  taxes  on  the  incomes  of  the  entire  colored  popu- 
lation of  this  city.  This  evasion  of  the  payment  of 
taxes  is  very  general  among  negroes  throughout  the 
South,  excepting  for  real  property,  on  which  the  negro 
is  usually  prompt  to  pay. 

In  North  Carolina  the  data  available  do  not  afford  a 
clear  insight  into  facts.  The  table  below  will  show  for 
the  state  the  amount  of  taxes  for  school  purposes  levied 
during  five  years,  but  the  reports  do  not  show  the  amount 
actually  paid. 

TAXEIS  FOR  SCHOOr,  PURPOSES  ASSEJSSED  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA  IN 
1891-1895. 


White  Population. 

General  Property  Tax.          Poll  Taxes. 

Total. 

IS9I .  .  . 

$283,953 

$299-994 

$583,947 

1892  .  .  . 

364,012 

237,461 

601,473 

1893  .  .  . 

354,221 

240,912 

595,133 

1894.  .  . 

378,248 

243,992 

622,240 

1895  .  .  . 

363,158 

250,458 
Colored   Population. 

613,616 

I89I  .  .  . 

8,735 

90,420 

99,155 

1892  .  .  . 

12,373 

93,589 

105,962 

1893.  .  . 

12,274 

92,870 

105,145 

1894.  .  . 

13,071 

92,139 

105,210 

1895  .  .  . 

12,861 

94,436 

107,297 

The  total  amount  of  school  taxes  levied  in  1895  was 
$765,510,  80.17  P^^  cent,  of  which  was  assessed  to  the 
whites,  and  14.01  per  cent,  to  the  colored,  the  remaining 
5.82  per  cent,  being  derived  from  other  sources.  In  the 
same  state  the  school  population  in  1890  was  64.9  per  cent, 
white  and  35.1  per  cent,  colored.  Hence  with  35.1  per 
cent,  of  the  school  population,  the  colored  people  were 


304  Amcricati  Econojuic  Association. 

charged  with  only  14.  i  per  cent,  of  the  taxes.  It  would 
be  interesting  to  know  what  proportion  of  these  taxes 
were  actually  paid.  Since  the  larger  proportion  of  the 
taxes  levied  against  the  negroes  were  poll  taxes,  it  is 
doubtful  if  more  than  half  of  them  were  collected. 

The  economic  consequences  of  this  disproportion  of 
taxes  to  population,  and  the  great  differences  between 
benefits  received  and  services  rendered,  are  nowhere 
better  illustrated  than  in  the  case  of  Virginia. 

In  his  work  on  "  The  Old  South,"  Mr.  Thomas  Nelson 
Page  has  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  during  twenty 
years  (1870-90)  the  total  cost  of  negro  education  alone 
was  equal  to  nearly  six  million  dollars,  while  for  the 
whites  during  the  same  period  17.5  millions  were  ex- 
pended for  this  purpose.  These  expenditures  Mr.  Page 
compares  with  the  taxes  assessed  in  1891,  and  shows  that 
while  25  per  cent,  of  the  public  funds  for  school  pur- 
poses were  devoted  to  negro  education,  the  negroes  were 
charged  with  only  8.3  per  cent,  taxes.  ]\Ir.  Page,  more- 
over, gave  the  assessed  taxes  and  not  the  actual  amount 
of  taxes  paid,  which  for  the  colored  would  approximate, 
on  the  basis  of  the  figures  for  1895,  only  6.2  per  cent. 

Mr.  Morton  Marye,  the  auditor  of  Virginia,  a  few 
5^ears  ago  was  asked  by  a  representative  of  the  American 
Association  of  Educators  of  the  Colored  Youth,  "  What 
is  the  negro  doing  towards  his  own  education  ?",  and 
replied  with  the  following  statistics  : 

By  the  tables  which  have  been  prepared  from  the  official  records  it 
appears  that  the  colored  people  of  the  state  pay  into  the  treasur}'  the 
sum  of  1103,565,  and  that  the  state  pays  out  in  their  behalf: 

For  criminal  expenses $204, 018 

For  education 324,864 

For  care  of  lunatics 80,000 

Total   expenditure 608,383 

These  figures  show  that  so  far  from  contributing  their  own  support 
the  colored  people  cost  the  state  in  criminal  expenses  ^100,453  more 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   305 

than  the  entire  snm  they  pay  into  the  treasury.  These  figures  also  show 
that  not  only  do  the  colored  people  fail  to  pay  one  cent  towards  the  reg- 
ular expenses  of  the  state  government  (other  than  that  of  criminal 
trials)  such  as  salaries  of  the  governor,  judges  of  the  court  of  appeals,  of 
circuit,  corporation  and  county  courts  and  of  other  state  officers,  cost 
of  the  general  assembly,  public  printing,  interest  on  the  public  debt, 
etc.,  but  they  cost  the  state  for  criminal  expenses,  education  and  care 
of  their  lunatics,  1504,817  more  than  they  pay  into  her  treasury. 

It  is  difficult  to  arrive  at  definite  conclusions  on  the 
basis  of  the  foregoing  information.  In  one  sense  the 
statistics  show  a  certain  degree  of  economic  progress  : 
some  lands  have  been  acquired,  some  personal  property 
has  been  accumulated,  and  some  taxes  are  paid  ;  but  after 
all  the  general  condition  of  the  race  from  an  economic 
standpoint  is  far  from  what  it  ought  to  be  to  make  the 
negro  a  positive  and  determining  factor  in  the  economic 
life  of  the  nation. 

That  he  should  try  to  evade  the  payment  of  his  taxes 
is  what  might  be  expected.  In  this  respect  the  white 
race  has  always  set  an  example  of  which  there  is  nothing 
to  be  proud.  It  was  the  conclusion  of  Professor 
Ely,  that  "  a  study  of  taxation  is  calculated  to 
give  one  a  rather  pessimistic  view  of  American 
laws,  American  institutions,  and  American  character." 
And  the  fact  that  the  negro  should  prove  himself  an  un- 
scrupulous tax-dodger  is  only  another  proof  of  his 
tendency  to  acquire  the  vices  rather  than  the  virtues  of 
the  white  man's  civilization. 

The  tendency  would  seem  to  be  in  the  direction 
of  the  purchase  of  land  and  property  in  the  agricultural 
sections  ;  although  a  considerable  portion  of  the  assessed 
wealth  owned  by  negroes  is  in  city  property.  Whether 
their  ownership  of  land  will  prove  a  benefit  to  the  state  is 
very  doubtful.  From  such  data  as  have  been  at  my 
command,  it  would  appear  that  the  negro  on  the  land  is 


3o6  American  Economic  Association. 

contented  with  making  a  living  and  no  more.  This  con- 
clusion is  supported  by  personal  observations  in  various 
portions  of  the  South.  Hence  it  follows  that,  while  the 
settlement  of  the  negro  on  land  which  is  his  own  may 
insure  a  happier  and  less  burdensome  existence,  it  is 
very  doubtful  whether  such  a  condition  would  not,  in 
the  end,  prove  more  of  a  hindrance  than  a  help  to  the 
economic  progress  of  the  South. 

In  the  large  cities  the  vast  majority  of  negroes  lead  a 
precarious  existence,  accumulating  little  property  and 
making  but  scant  provision  for  old  age,  disease,  and  death. 
The  evil  influence  of  the  failure  of  the  Freedmen's  Bank 
will  be  felt  for  generations  to  come  in  an  indirect  way. 
Some  attempts  have  been  made  to  induce  the  negro 
to  save,  but  in  most  cases  they  reach  only  a  small 
class  of  individuals.  Northern  societies  for  the  ameliora- 
tion of  the  condition  of  the  colored  population  have  made 
some  efforts  to  induce  the  negroes  of  the  large  cities  to 
save  small  amounts  by  means  of  cards  and  stamps,  but 
such  instances  as  have  come  to  my  notice  seem  to 
prove  that  very  little  has  been  accomplished.  I  have  no 
data,  however,  in  regard  to  the  amounts  saved,  and  the 
sums  thus  laid  aside  may  be  larger  than  would  appear. 

And  in  the  accumulation  of  the  property  which  the 
negroes  actually  own,  there  is  one  fact  which  must  not 
be  ignored,  that  is,  the  effect  of  the  '  unearned  increment', 
which,  proportionately  speaking,  has  probably  benefitted 
the  race  more  that  the  whites.  The  enormous  develop- 
ment of  the  southern  states  during  the  past  ten  years, 
the  growth  of  new  cities  and  the  extension  of  old,  the 
development  of  suburban  tracts  and  the  growth  of  the 
railway  systems  have,  in  very  many  instances 
made  rich  people  out  of  colored  persons  who  acci- 
dentally owned  a  piece  of  land  which  under  new  condi- 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.  2f>l 

tions  became  desirable  because  of  its  location.  In  many 
instances  to  my  own  knowledge,  especially  in  the  vicinity 
of  Chattanooga,  large  sums  were  paid  to  negroes  for  land 
on  account  of  its  proximity  to  valuable  land  in  a  par- 
ticular section  in  which  negroes  were  not  wanted.  Of 
course  the  same  shifting  of  fortunes  occurs  everywhere, 
but  it  particularly  modifies  the  amount  that  the  negro  can 
show  in  the  way  of  taxable  property  as  the  result  of  his 
own  labor. 

As  a  general  conclusion  it  may  be  said  that  the  negro 
has  yet  to  learn  the  first  elements  of  Anglo-Saxon  thrift. 
He  has  yet  to  be  taught,  or  left  alone  to  learn  the  les- 
son of  the  consequences  of  the  old  English  poor  law. 
What  Mr.  Mackay  says  of  the  workings  of  the  factory 
laws  and  other  philanthropic  efforts  in  behalf  of  the 
English  poor,  holds  equally  for  the  negro  of  the  South  : 

As  they  have  not  been  obliged  to  learn  the  first  steps,  so  thev  have 
difficulty  in  proceeding  further  and  are  constantly  looking  to  the  state 
to  aid  them  under  conditions  in  which  the  state  is  powerless.  The 
working  class  gained,  no  doubt,  some  of  the  advantages  which  the 
factory  acts  were  intended  to  give,  but  these  acts  have  made  a  break 
in  the  coutinuit}'  of  individual  efforts.  They  have  deprived  men  of  a 
most  invaluable  educational  process,  and  this  loss  perhaps  more  than 
balances  the  gain.  Workmen  have  gained  their  present  position  by 
the  short  cut  of  state  interference,  and  they  hardly  know  how  to 
utilize  the  advantages  which  they  have  acquired.  The  natural  course 
of  economic  evolution  is  slower  but  surer  in  the  eud.^ 

But  the  consequences  of  this  disregard  of  a  funda- 
mental law  of  economic  and  social  life,  namely,  that  the 
individual  shall  develop  his  faculties  and  abilities, 
not  in  accordance  with  the  preconceived  ideas  and 
notions  of  others,  but  as  a  result  of  his  own  individual 
struggle  for  success  in  life,  have  even  more  seriously 
affected  the  progress  and  development  of  the  white  race, 
if  for  no  other  reason,  because  there  was  more  to  be  lost. 

'Mackay,   "The  English  Poor,"  p.  263. 


3o8  American  Economic  Association. 

The  method  employed  by  ]\Ir.  ]Marye  in  showing  that 
the  negro  is  a  heavy  burden  to  the  state  of  Virginia,  may 
understate,  but  it  does  not  exaggerate  the  burden  of  a 
large  negro  population.  If  it  were  possible  to  obtain 
correct  information  in  regard  to  the  annual  cost  of  the 
negro  population  and  its  annual  contribution  to  the 
public  fund,  I  feel  sure  that  the  indirect  gain  to  the 
public  through  the  productive  ability  of  the  negro  would 
be  shown  to  be  far  less  than  is  supposed.  Shirking  its 
duty  tow^ards  the  state  to  such  an  extent  that  even  those 
most  able  to  pay  evade  the  payment  of  a  paltry  income 
tax,  much  missionary  work  will  still  have  to  be  done 
before  the  negro  race  will  understand  the  rudimentary 
ethics  of  social  life. 

With  an  inordinate  rate  of  mortality,  with  an  exces- 
sive degree  of  immorality,  with  a  greater  tendency  to 
crime  and  pauperism  than  the  whites,  the  negro  race  has 
also,  as  shown  by  the  facts  just  given,  a  far  lower  degree 
of  economic  activity  and  inclination  towards  accumula- 
tion of  capital  and  other  material  wealth.  It  seems  from 
all  the  facts  relating  to  their  economic  condition,  that  the 
great  majority  leave  the  earth  as  poor  as  they  entered  it, 
and  are  fully  satisfied  with  a  degree  of  comfort  too  low  to 
prove  of  economic  advantage  to  the  state.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  if  the  present  tendency  towards  a  lower 
degree  of  economic  efSciency  is  persisted  in,  the  day  is  not 
far  distant  when  the  negro  laborer  of  the  South  will  be 
gradually  supplanted  by  the  immigrant  laborer  from 
Europe,  just  as  the  coolie  in  the  West  Indies  has  sup- 
planted the  native  laborer. 

Land  at  the  present  rates  is  very  easily  obtained  by 
negroes  in  the  Southern  states,  and  once  obtained  it  is 
very  easily  held.  The  genial  climate  and  the  pro- 
ductiveness of  the  soil  will  supply  wnth  little  labor  the 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  A^nerican  Negro.   309 

wants  Oi  a  negro  and  his  family,  leaving  bnt  a  small 
amount  of  work  to  be  done  to  supply  those  necessaries  of 
life  which  have  to  be  bought  for  cash.  This  is  practi- 
cally the  condition  of  the  negro  in  the  West  Indies  ;^  and 
this  is  the  tendency  disclosed  by  the  available  facts  in 
the  southern  states.  The  drifting  towards  a  proprietor- 
ship of  small  holdings  may  insure  to  the  negro  the 
comforts  of  life,  but  such  a  proprietorship  will  add  little 
to  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  the  state.  And  as  a 
result  of  this  probable  condition,  the  state  will  in  return 
be  slow  to  provide  for  its  citizens  those  advantages  of 
modern  civilized  life,  without  which  the  majority  of 
the  people  are  no  longer  willing  to  get  along.  Such 
public  improvements  as  good  roads,  canals,  hospitals, 
asylums,  institutions  for  higher  and  technical  educa- 
tion, adequate  provision  for  paupers  and  other  depend- 
ents, will  be  largely  impossible  in  states  where  the  whole 
burden  of  public  support  is  carried  by  a  comparatively 
small  proportion  of  the  population. 

'  The  remarks  of  Mr.  Froude  in  regard  to  the  negro  in  the  West 
Indies  are  equally  applicable  to  the  nejjro  throughout  the  larger  part 
of  the  South.  "If  happiness  is  to  be  all  and  end  all  of  life,  and  those 
who  have  most  of  it  have  most  completely  attained  the  object  of  their 
being,  the  '  nigger '  who  now  basks  among  the  ruins  of  the  West 
Indian  plantations  is  the  supremest  specimen  of  present  humanity." 
("The  English  in  the  West  Indies,"  p.  50.  ) 


y 


Chapter  VII. 
conclusion. 

Of  all  the  vulgar  modes  of  escaping  from  the  consideralion  of  the 
effect  of  social  and  moral  influences  on  the  human  mind,  the  most 
vulgar  is  that  of  attributing  the  diversities  of  conduct  and  character 
to  inherent  natural  differences.' — Mill. 

In  treatises  on  pathology  we  find  much  as  to  the  influence  of  age, 
sex  and  temperament  ou  disease,  and  concise  descriptions  of  affections 
peculiar  to  certain  countries,  but  almost  nothing  as  to  the  influence 
of  race.' — Topinard. 

The  central  fact  deducible  from  the  re.siilts  of  this  in- 
vestigation into  the  traits  and  tendencies  of  the  colored 
population  of  this  conntry,  is  plainly  and  emphatically 
the  powerfnl  inflnence  of  race  in  the  struggle  for  life. 
In  marked  contrast  with  the  frequent  assertions,  such  as 
that  of  ]\Iill,  that  race  is  not  important  and  that  environ- 
ment or  the  conditions  of  life  are  the  most  important 
factors  in  the  final  result  of  the  struggle  for  life,  indi- 
vidual as  well  as  social,  we  have  here  abundant  evidence 
that  we  find  in  race  and  heredity  the  determining  factors 
in  the  upward  or  downward  course  of  mankind. 

In  the  field  of  statistical  research,  sentiment,  preju- 
dice, or  the  influence  of  pre-conceived  ideas  have  no 
place.  The  data  which  have  been  here  brought  together 
in  a  convenient  form  speak  for  themselves.  From 
the  standpoint  of  the  impartial  investigator,  no  difference 
of  interpretation  of  their  meaning  seems  possible.  The 
decrease  in  the  rate  of  increase  in  the  colored  popula- 
tion has  been  traced  first  to  the  excessive  mortality, 
w^hich  in  turn  has  been  traced  to  an  inferior  vital 
capacity.     The  mixture  of  the  African  with  the   white 

1  "Principles  of  Political  Economy." 
'  "  Anthropology,"  p.  413. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   311 

race  has  been  shown  to  have  seriously  affected  the 
longevity  of  the  former  and  left  as  a  heritage  to  future 
generations  the  poison  of  scrofula,  tuberculosis  and 
most  of  all  of,  syphilis.  This  racial  inferiority,  has  in 
turn  brought  about  a  moral  deterioration  such  as  is  rarely 
met  with  in  civilized  countries  at  the  present  time.  Al- 
ready subject  to  an  inordinate  rate  of  mortality,  especially 
from  all  of  the  most  destructive  diseases,  the  sexual  im- 
morality prevailing  between  colored  females  and  white 
males  of  a  lower  type,  as  well  as  between  colored  males 
and  colored  females,  has  also  brought  about  a  diminished 
power  of  vital  resistance  among  the  young,  as  is  to  be 
expected  from  the  recognized  fact  that  the  death  rate 
for  illegitimate  children  is  about  twice  that  of  children 
born  in  wedlock.  As  a  general  result  there  is  diminished 
social  and  economic  efficiency,  which  in  the  course  of 
years  must  prove  not  only  a  most  destructive  factor 
in  the  progress  of  the  colored  race,  but  also  in  the 
progress,  social  as  well  as  economic,  of  the  white  race 
brought  under  its  influence. 

Racial  inferiority  was  the  keynote  of  the  pro-slavery 
argument.  On  the  other  hand,  racial  differences  were 
explained  away  by  those  who  saw  in  freedom  the  sure 
prospect  of  speedy  amelioration  of  the  lot  of  the  south- 
ern slave ;  yet  thirty  years  of  freedom  in  this  country  and 
nearly  sixty  in  the  West  Indies  have  failed  to  accomplish 
the  original  purpose  of  the  abolition  of  slavery,  that  is, 
the  elevation  of  the  colored  race  to  the  moral,  mental 
and  economic  level  of  the  white  race. 

Nothing  is  more  clearly  shown  from  this  investiga- 
tion than  that  the  southern  black  man  at  the  time 
of  emancipation  was  healthy  in  body  and  cheerful  in 
mind.  He  neither  suffered  inordinately  from  disease 
nor  from  impaired  bodily  vigor.     His  industrial  capaci- 


312  Afnerica?i  Economic  Association. 

ties  as  a  laborer  were  not  of  a  low  order,  nor  was  the 
condition  of  servitude  such  as  to  produce  in  him  mor- 
bid conditions  favorable  to  mental  disease,  suicide,  or 
intemperance.  What  are  the  conditions  thirty  years 
after  ?  The  pages  of  this  work  give  but  one  answer, 
an  answer  which  is  a  most  severe  condemnation  of  mod- 
ern attempts  of  superior  races  to  lift  inferior  races  to 
their  own  elevated  position,  an  answer  so  full  of  mean- 
ing that  it  would  seem  criminal  indifference  on  the  part 
of  a  civilized  people  to  ignore  it.  In  the  plain  language 
of  the  facts  brought  together  the  colored  race  is  shown 
to  be  on  the  downward  grade,  tending  toward  a  condi- 
tion in  which  matters  will  be  worse  than  they  are  novr, 
when  diseases  will  be  more  destructive,  vital  resistance 
still  lower,  when  the  number  of  births  will  fall  below 
the  deaths,  and  gradual  extinction  of  the  race  take  place. 
Neither  religion  nor  education  nor  a  higher  degree  of 
economic  well-being  have  been  able  to  raise  the  race 
from  a  low  and  anti-social  condition,  a  condition  really 
fostered  by  the  very  influences  which  it  was  asserted 
would  soon  raise  the  race  to  a  place  even  more  elevated 
than  that  of  the  whites. 

It  is  not  in  the  conditions  of  life,  but  in  race  and 
heredity  that  we  find  the  explanation  of  the  fact  to  be 
observed  in  all  parts  of  the  globe,  in  all  times  and 
among  all  peoples,  namely,  the  superiority  of  one  race 
over  another,  and  of  the  Aryan  race  over  all.  To  what 
must  we  attribute  this  superiority?  To  what  inherent 
traits  must  we  attribute  the  marvelous  conquest  of  na- 
ture by  the  Aryan  race  ?  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote 
from  the  work  of  IMr.  Morris,  who  defines  in  an  admira- 
ble manner  the  essential  differences  between  the  four 
most  important  races  : 


Race  Traits  ajid  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   313 

If  the  negro  is  indolent  both  physically  and  mentally,  the  Mongol- 
ian energetic  physically  Ijut  undeveloped  mentally,  and  the  Melano- 
chroi  active  physically  and  to  some  extent  mentally,  in  the 
Aryan  we  find  a  highly  vigorous  and  developed  mental  activity-. 
Though  by  no  means  lacking  in  physical  energy  the  mind  is  the  rul- 
ing agent  in  this  race,  muscular  work  is  reduced  to  the  lowest  level 
consistent  with  the  demands  of  the  body  and  the  intellect,  and  every 
effort  is  made  to  limit  the  quantity  of  work  represented  in  a  fixed 
quantity  of  product.  Waste  labor  is  a  crime  to  the  Aryan  mind. 
Use  is  the  guiding  principle  in  all  efforts.  It  is  to  this  ruling  agency 
of  the  intellect  over  the  energies  of  a  muscular  and  active  organism 
that  we  owe  the  superior  quality,  the  restricted  dimensions,  and  the 
vast  quantity  of  Aryan  labor  products.  In  his  work  pure  thought 
is  far  more  represented  than  pure  labor.^ 

If  we  consider  the  negro  race  ....  it  is  to  find  a  lack  of  energy 
both  physical  and  mental.  Nowhere  in  the  region  inhabited  by  this 
race  do  we  perceive  indications  of  high  powers  of  either  work  or 
thought.  No  monuments  of  architecture  appear,  no  philosophies,  or 
literatures  have  arisen.  And  in  their  present  condition  they  stand 
mentally  at  a  very  low  level,  while  physically  they  confine  themselves 
to  the  labor  absolutely  necessary  for  existence.  They  neither  work 
nor  think  above  the  lowest  level  of  life  needs  ;  and  even  in  America 
under  all  the  instigations  of  Aryan  activity,  the  Negro  race  scarcely 
displays  an)'  voluntary  energy  either  of  thought  or  work.'  It  goes 
only  as  far  as  the  sharp  whip  of  necessity  drives,  and  looks  upon  in- 
dolence and  sunshine  as  the  terrestial  paradise. 

The  white  race  has  great  physical  vigor,  capacity  and  endurance. 
It  has  an  intensity  of  will  and  desire  which  is  controlled  by  intellect- 
uality. Great  things  are  undertaken,  readily  but  not  blindly.  It 
manifests  a  strong  utilitarianism,  united  with  a  powerful  imagination 
which  elevates,  enobles  and  idealizes  its  practical  ideas.  The  negro 
can  onl\-  imitate,  the  Chinese  only  utilize,  the  work  of  the  white  ;  but 
the  latter  is  abundantly  able  to  produce  new  works.  He  has  a  keen 
sense  of  order  as  the  yellow  man,  not  from  love  of  repose,  however, 
but  from  the  desire  to  protect  and  preserve  his  acquisitions.  He  has 
a  love  of  liberty  far  more  intense  than  exists  in  the  black  or  yellow 
races,  and  clings  to  life  more  earnestly.  His  high  sense  of  honor  is  a 
faculty  unknown  to  other  races,  and  springs  from  an  exalted   senti- 

^  Morris,  "  The  Aryan  Race  :  its  Origin  and  Achievements,"  p.  277-S. 

-  "  Even  so  highly  developed  a  type  of  mind  as  that  of  the  negro — 
submitted,  too,  as  it  has  been  in  millions  of  individual  cases  to  a  close 
contact  with  minds  of  the  most  progressive  type,  and  enjoying  as  it 
has  in  many  thousands  of  individual  cases  all  the  advantages  of  a 
liberal  education — has  never  so  far  as  I  can  ascertain  executed  one 
single  stroke  of  original  work  in  any  single  department  of  intellectual 
activity." — Romanes  "Mental  Evolution  of  Man,"  (New  York,  18S9,) 
P-  13- 


314 


American  Economic  Association. 


ment  of  which  they  show  no  indications.  His  sensations  are  less  in- 
tense than  in  either  black  or  yellow,  but  his  mentality  is  far  more 
developed  and  energetic. 

Thus  the  Aryan  stands  as  the  type  of  intellectual  man,  the  central 
outcome  of  the  races  in  which  th^  special  conditions  of  dark  and  light, 
North  and  South,  emotional  and  practical  have  mingled  and  combined 
into  the  highest  and  noblest  states  of  mind  and  body.' 

In  other  words,  the  Aryan  race  is  possessed  of  all  the 
e.ssential  characteristics  that  make  for  success  in  the 
.struggle  for  the  higher  life,  in  contrast  with  other  races 
which  lack  in  either  one  or  the  other  of  the  determining 
qualities.  A  statement  so  far-reaching  must  needs  have  a 
considerable  body  of  facts  in  its  support,  and  the  whole 
history  of  human  effort  is  witness  to  the  fact  that  no  other 
race  since  the  Aryan  appeared  on  the  scene,  has,  in  the 
end,  been  able  to  resist  the  onward  march  of  its  progress- 
ive civilization.  Here,  in  the  contrast  between  the  white 
and  colored  races  we  have  the  most  complete  historical 
proof  of  race  superiority,  a  superiority  extending  into  all 
the  intricate  and  complex  phenomena  of  life.  Wherever 
the  white  man  has  gone,  he  has  become  master  of  the 
conditions  of  life.  The  whole  history  of  Anglo-Saxon 
conquest  and  colonization  is  one  endless  proof  of  race 
superiority  and  race  supremacy.  In  countries  where  the 
very  forces  of  nature  were  at  first  against  him,  he  has, 
after  years  of  struggle,  gained  his  end  and  mastered  the 
conditions  of  life  surrounding  him. 

It  has  been  sliowm  in  this  work  how  the  mortality  of 
the  white  troops  in  the  West  Indies  has  gradually  de- 
creased during  the  past  seventy  years.  It  may  not  be 
out  of  place  to  give  a  few  additional  facts. 

In  the  abbreviated  table  below  I  give  some  of  the 
most  important  statistics  bearing  on  the  question  of  the 
ability  of  the  white  race  to  live  in  the  tropics.  Here 
we  have  for  four  large  sections  and  for  a    very    long 

'Morris,   "  The  Aryan  Race  :   its  Origin  and  Achievements,"  p.  28. 


Race  Traits  arid  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   315 

period  the  experience  of  the  British  and  Dutch  armies 
in  the  East  and  West  Indies.  Without  exception  the 
fall  in  the  death  rate  has  been  very  great.  It  is  im- 
material for  our  present  purpose  to  know  to  what  causes 
this  diminishing  mortality  may  be  due ;  we  here  have 
merely  to  consider  the  fact  that  those  countries  are  no 
longer  "  the  white  man's  grave." 

MORTAUTY  OF  THE  BRITISH  TROOPS  IN  BENGAL. 

1825-29 77.7  per  1,000 

1881-90 14.5 

MORTALITY  OF  THE  BRITISH  TROOPS  IN  MADRAS. 

1801-1809 68.0  per  1,000 

I88I-I890 13.0 

MORTALITY  OF  THE  BRITISH  TROOPS  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. 

1819-1836 78.5  per  1,000 

I886-I892 9.7 

IMORTALITY  OF  THE  DUTCH  TROOPS  IN  THE  EAST  INDIES. 

1819-1828 170.0  per  1,000 

1879-1888 30.6 

-1892 16.0 

Were  not  the  conditions  of  life  extremely  unfavora- 
ble to  the  white  race  in  those  countries  in  the  early  part 
of  the  century  ?  Is  not  the  climate  the  same,  the  heat 
still  as  oppressive,  the  jungle  still  as  malarious,  the  life 
in  itself  still  as  totally  different  from  the  life  at  home  ? 
Are  not  these  statistics  proof  that  the  white  race  must 
have  been  able  to  master  the  unfavorable  conditions  of 
life  in  order  to  have  made  possible  such  enormous  re- 
ductions in  the  death  rates  ?  Even  if  it  is  admitted  that 
in  certain  sections  it  is  not  as  yet  possible  for  the  white 
race  to  increase  and  multiply,  is  it  not  proof  of  a  supe- 
rior vitality  to  have  been  able  to  make  at  least  a  station- 
ary condition  possible  at  the  present  time  ?  And  will  it 
be  doubted  that  where  so  much  has  been  accomplished 


3i6  American  Economic  Association. 

the  race  will  be  able  to  improve  its  condition  still  fnrtlicr, 
to  adapt  itself  still  more  completely  to  the  prevailing 
conditions,  and  thanks  to  snperior  race  traits  and  con- 
seqnent  moral,  intellectual  and  economic  superiority,  in 
the  end  to  become  absolute  master  of  the  conditions  of 
life,  even  in  what  were  formerly  considered  the  most 
fatal  regions  of  the  earth  ? 

Let  us  consider  one  experiment  of  this  kind.  The 
colonization  of  Algeria  by  France  was  most  bitterly 
opposed  fifty  years  ago.  In  numberless  instances  the 
claim  was  made  that  never  under  any  circumstances 
could  the  French  population  become  so  acclimated  that 
it  would  increase  and  multiply.  Major  Tulloch  (who 
wrote  extensively  on  the  mortality  of  the  white  race  in 
the  tropics  during  the  first  fifty  years  of  the  present 
century,)  in  a  paper  on  "  The  ]\Iortality  among  Her 
Majesty's  Troops  in  the  Colonies  ",  speaks  of  the  colon- 
ization of  Algiers  as  follows  : 

To  ascertain  the  races  of  men  best  fitted  to  inhabit  and  develop 
the  resonrces  of  different  colonies  is  a  most  important  iuqniry,  anil 
one  which  has  hitherto  attracted  too  little  attention,  both  in  this  and 
other  conntries.  Had  the  government  of  France,  for  instance,  ad- 
verted to  the  absolute  impossibility  ol  anj'  population  increasing  or 
keeping  up  its  numbers  under  an  annual  mortalitj'  of  seven  per  cent., 
(being  that  to  which  the  settlers  are  exposed  at  Algiers),  it  would 
never  have  entered  on  the  wild  speculation  of  cultivating  the  soil  of 
Africa  by  Europeans,  nor  have  wasted  a  hundred  million  sterling  with 
no  other  result  than  the  loss  of  100,0  o  men,  who  have  fallen  victims 
to  the  climate  of  that  country.  In  such  questions  military  returns, 
properly  organized  and  properly  digested,  afford  one  of  the  most  use- 
ful guides  to  direct  the  policy  of  the  colonial  legislator  ;  they  point  out 
the  limits  intended  by  nature  for  particular  races  and  within  which 
alone  they  can  thrive  and  increase.' 

What  are  the  facts  of  subsequent  experience  ?  Was 
ultimate  failure  the  result  of  this  struggle  of  the  white 
race  against  such  unfavorable  '  conditions  of  life  ? ' 

^Journal  of  the  Royal  Staiisiical  Society,  Vol.  X,  (1847),  page  259. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendeyicics  of  the  Atnerica?!  Negro.  317 

Algeria  became  a  colony  of  France  in  1837,  when  the 
last  provinces  were  conquered.  Nearly  seven  years  had 
passed  since  the  first  attempt  was  made  to  conquer  the 
territory,  and  during  this  time  6,592  persons  of  French 
descent  had  settled  in  the  new  colony.  The  total  Eu- 
ropean population  in  this  year  was  16,770,  exclusive  of 
the  military  force.  Nearly  twenty  years  later,  or  nine 
years  after  Mr.  Tulloch  wrote  his  essay  against  coloniza- 
tion, the  population  of  French  descent  had  increased, 
largely  of  course  by  immigration,  to  92,750.  Twenty 
years  later,  that  is,  by  the  year  1876,  the  French  popu- 
lation numbered  156,365  ;  while  at  the  last  census,  1891, 
the   number  had  increased  to  271,101. 

During  the  same  period  other  races,  most  of  all  the 
Spanish,  had  settled  in  Algeria  and  were  increasing  at  a 
rapid  rate.  From  5,189  Spanish  settlers  in  1837,  the 
population  of  Spanish  descent  increased  to  151,859  by 
the  year  1891.  The  Jews,  who  numbered  6,065  i^ 
1837,  increased  to  21,048  by  the  year  1856,  and  to  47,- 
564  by  1891.  Only  the  Germans,  who  numbered  782  in 
1837,  and  5,440  in  1856,  have  shown  a  tendency  to  de- 
crease in  population,  numbering  only  3,189  at  the 
census  of  1891.^ 

Thus,  it  is  clearly  shown  that  those  races  which 
Mr.  Tulloch  concluded  could  not  possibly  survive  the 
early  unfavorable  conditions  of  life,  half  a  century  later 
had  increased,  partly  by  immigration  but  in  no  small 
part  by  natural  increase,  to  a  total  European  population 
of  nearly  half  a  million.  And  only  forty  years  later 
Mr.  Playfair,  the  British  consul,  could  say  :  "  Who  shall 
estimate  the  gain  to  humanity  by  the  transformation  of 
a  nest  of  pirates  and  robbers  into  the  beautiful  colony 
which  Algeria  now  is  ?"     The  enormous  mortality  of 

'  "Statistique  G^n^rale  de  I'Algerie,"  Alger,  1894. 

2X 


3i8  America7i  Econoynic  Association. 

the  early  years  has  long  since  decreased,  and  to-day  the 
births  exceed  the  deaths,  year  after  year,  with  a  favor- 
able tendency  upwards. 

I  have  calculated  the  ratios  of  births  to  deaths,  for 
the  period  1881-93,  which  shows  that  for  all  Euro- 
peans in  Algeria  the  ratio  is  one  death  to  ever)'  1.15 
births,  those  of  French  descent  have  a  ratio  of  one 
to  1. 1 7,  while  the  Jews  have  a  ratio  of  one  to  every 
1.65  births,  the  most  favorable  of  all.  The  native 
population  of  Algeria  has  frequently  shown  an  ex- 
cess of  deaths  over  births,  but  the  statistics  for  this  part 
of  the  population  must  of  necessity  be  wanting  in  com- 
pleteness. Surgeon  F.  L.  Du  Bois,  writing  in  1880  to 
the  Navy  Department,^  expressed  it  as  his  opinion  that 
the  native  Mussulman  population  would  rapidly  disap- 
pear, but  so  far  this  has  not  taken  place.  For  while  at 
times  the  births  have  fallen  below  the  deaths,  at  other 
times  the  reverse  has  occurred.  If  the  race  is  destined 
to  disappear  it  will  be  a  very  gradual  process  of  extinc- 
tion, increasing  perhaps  in  rapidity  in  course  of  time. 

Such  extinction  has  been  almost  invariably  the  rule 
where  white  races  have  permanently  settled  among 
what  the  Germans  call  the  "  Naturvoelker."  It  would 
carry  me  beyond  my  purpose  were  I  to  deal  to  any  ex- 
tent with  this  point ;  but  on  account  of  the  close  rela- 
tion between  the  extinction  of  native  races  in  various 
parts  of  the  world  and  the  settlement  of  those  sections 
by  the  white  races,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  if  I  give 
here  the  following  table  showing  the  decrease  in  the 
native  Indian  population  of  this  country,  and  of  the 
natives  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  New  Zealand. 

^  Annual  report,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  1880,  p.  439- 


Race  Traits  atid  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   319 


ACTUAL  AND  RELATIVE  DECREASE  IN  THE  NATIVE  INDIAN  POPULA- 
TION OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  THE  HAWAIIANS 
AND  THE  MAORIES. 


North  American  Indians. 
68  Years. 


Year. 
1822 
1850 
1870 
i8qo 


Population, 

471,417 
388,229 
313,712 
248,253 


Total  decrease,       223,164 
%  of  decrease,  47.4 

Av.  anuual  %,  0.69 


Hawaiians.i 
67  Years. 


823 
853 
872 


Population. 

142,000 

71,019 

49,044 

34,436 

107.564 
75-8 


Maories. 
48   Years. 


1843 
1858 
1881 
189I 


Population. 

114,890 

56,049 

44,099 

41,993 

72,897 

63-4 

1.32 


'Annual  Death  Rate  in  Honolulu  (Sandwich  Islands),  1893-94. 
Per  1,000  of  Population. 


Native  . 
Asiatic 


33-6 
24-3 


1893. 
29-5 
20.8 


European 16.8  17.7 

I  have  confined  myself  in  this  table  to  periods  of  ob- 
servation for  which  the  statistical  data  are  fairly  reliable 
and  which  would  tend  rather  to  understate  than  over- 
state the  native  population  at  the  earlier  periods.  It 
will  be  observed  that  the  annual  rate  of  decrease  has 
been  highest  for  the  Maories,  slightly  lower  for  the 
Hawaiians,  and  about  half  the  rate  of  the  former  for  the 
native  Indian  population.  These  figures  are  interesting 
from  a  number  of  standpoints,  but  we  must  confine  our- 
selves to  one  or  two.  It  goes  without  saying  that  the 
conditions  of  life  have  been  the  most  unfavorable  for 
the  Indians  in  comparison  with  the  Maories  and  Hawai- 
ians. Of  the  Maories  it  need  only  be  said  that  they  lived 
in  a  land  where  the  dominant  white  today  enjoys  the  most 
favorable  rate  of  mortality  of  any  race  on  earth  excepting 
the  Norwegians.  Of  the  Hawaiians  it  need  only  be  said 
that  the  very  name  of  the  group  of  islands,  the  "  Para- 
dise of  the  Pacific,"  indicates  that  the  conditions  of  life 
must  have  been  fairly  favorable  for  success  in  the 
mere  struggle  for  physical  existence.     Of  the  three  races 


320 


American  Economic  Association. 


the  American  Indians  have  without  question  been  ex- 
posed to  the  greatest  hardships  and  the  most  unfavorable 
conditions  of  life,  if  only  on  account  of  the  enormous  in- 
crease in  the  white  population.  Yet  the  rate  of  decrease 
has  been  only  one-half  that  of  the  others,  and  the  reason 
for  this  becomes  plain  if  we  go  a  little  deeper  into  the 
life  history  of  the  three  races. 

Of  the  Maories,  Mr.  Archibald  Hamilton  wrote  in 
1869  as  follows  : 

It  is  frequently  asserted  that,  under  any  circumstances  the  natives 
must  disappear  before  the  advance  of  European  civilization  ;  that 
they  are  a  doomed  race.  For  the  sake  of  humanity,  I  trust  tha.  some 
means  may  be  found  of  terminating  the  present  state  of  chronic  hos- 
tilities, so  that  there  may  still  be  a  fair  opportunity  for  preserving  by 
far  the  finest  and  most  intellectual  race  with  whom  Anglo-Saxon 
colonists  have  yet  come  in  contact.  There  is  ample  room  for  both  : 
no  wide  extent  of  country  is  required  for  hunting  ground  :  and  a 
glance  at  the  map  will  show  how  small  a  portion  of  the  island  has 
been  yet  appropriated. ' 

Another  writer  observes  : 

The  Maories,  such  as  they  were  found  by  Tasman  and  Cook,  no 
longer  exist ;  they  were  a  people  of  great  force  of  character  and 
superior  intellectual  powers,  and  it  is  proper  that  their  memory  should 
be  perpetuated  ;  for  their  descendants  are  no  longer  the  typical  repre- 
sentatives of  the  ancestral  stock  ;  they  are  the  degenerate  offspring  of 
a  superior  people,  who  within  a  longer  or  shorter  period  will  become 
entirely  extinct.^ 

In  regard  to  the  conditions  of  life,  ]Mr.  F.  D.  Fenton 
in  his  able  report  on  the  Maories,  printed  in  1859,  wrote 
as  follows  : 

A  similar  abundance  of  fertile  soil,  extreme  facility  in  obtaining  the 
necessities  of  existence,  and  a  climate  of  even  greater  salubrity  (than 
the  United  States)  place  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  this  island  in 
circumstances  of  similar  advantage  for  developing  to  the  utmost  the 
powers  for  rapid  increase  possessed  by  the  human  race  generally.^ 

Thus,  with  conditions  of  life  exceptionally  favorable, 
conditions  which  enabled  the  white  population  to  reduce 

^Journal  of  the  Royal  Statistical  Society,  September,  1869,  p.  303. 

^Featherman,  "  Oceano-Melamesians,"  p.  166. 

^Journal  of  the  Royal  Statistical  Society,  December,  i860,  p.  514. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   321 

its  annual  mortality  to  less  than  10  per  1,000,  and  as  a 
result  increase  its  average  longevity  far  in  excess  of  that 
enjoyed  by  the  whites  of  this  country,  the  native  race, 
though  exceptional  in  character,  failed  to  meet  the  final 
test  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest ;  and  before  another 
half  century  the  most  of  its  members  will  have  passed 
away.  It  was  racial  inferiority,  therefore,  and  not  the 
conditions  of  life  that  brought  about  gradual  extinction 
of  this  race. 

Of  the  Hawaiians  we  have  so  many  accounts  that  it  is 
extremely  difficult  to  select  descriptive  statements  that 
would  not  contradict  others  of  equal  value  from  the 
standpoint  of  personal  observation.  Mr.  Featherman 
speaks  of  them  at  the  time  the  missionaries  came  to 
the  islands,  as  "the  uncorrupted  children  of  nature." 
Mr.  Bishop  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Social  Science 
Association  of  Honolulu,  spoke  of  the  women  of  the  race 
as  natural  prostitutes,  incapable  of  conceptions  of  sexual 
morality.^  Mr.  Charles  Gulick  in  "  A  Footnote  to  Ha- 
waiian History  "  speaks  of  the  race  at  the  time  of  the 
missionary  settlements  as  "of  incomparable  physique, 
open-hearted,  generous,  and  hospitable  to  a  fault.^ 
While  Mr.  Bishop  speaks  of  the  Hawaiian  female  as 
"  aggressive  in  solicitation,"  Mr.  Gulick  asserts,  on  the 
strength  of  forty  years  residence  in  the  islands,  that  he 
has  "discovered  no  such  custom  or  weakness."  That 
the  women  were  weak  and  willing  to  submit  to  irregular 
sexual  relations  with  the  whites  is  not  to  be  doubted. 
It  would  be  contrary  to  all  other  experience  with  native 

'"  Why  are  the  Hawaiians  dying  out?"  By  S.  E.  Bishop,  Hono- 
lulu, Nov.,  1888.  (Reprinted  in  Appendix  2,  "Foreign  Relations  of 
the  United  States,"  1894,  p.  769,  et  seq. ) 

^"  A  Footnote  to  Hawaiian  History,"  by  Chas,  T.  Gulick,  (Re- 
printed in  Appendix  2,  "Foreign  Relations  of  the  United  States," 
1894,  p.  745,  eiseq.) 


322  American  Economic  Association. 

races  if  it  were  otherwise.  This,  however,  would  prove 
nothing  further  than  that  the  whites  who  came  to  the 
island  were  not  slow  to  take  advantage  of  the  child-like 
ignorance  of  the  women  or  the  foolish  vanity  of  the  men 
who  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Featherman,  "  were  proud  of 
the  attentions  shown  and  the  intimate  relations  culti- 
vated by  their  better  halves  when  visitors  or  distin- 
guished strangers  claimed  their  hospitality."  ' 

Yet  in  the  "  Paradise  of  the  Pacific,"  under  the  influ- 
ence of  missionary  efforts  for  more  than  seventy  years, 
subjected  to  all  the  religious  and  educational  influences 
prevailing  among  the  white  race,  and  practically  under 
complete  influence  of  preachers  and  teachers,  the  race  is 
dying  out  at  a  rate  which  will  make  its  complete  extinc- 
tion only  a  question  of  a  few  years.  And  why  is  it  thus 
becoming  extinct  ?  Mr.  Bishop  attempts  to  answer  this 
question  : 

As  the  leading  and  most  efficient  element  of  weakness  in  the  Ha- 
waiian race,  tending  to  physical  decay,  we  predicate  :  Unchastity.  A 
general  impairment  of  constitutional  vigor  in  the  people  by  venereal 
disease  caused  them  to  fall  early  victims  toother  maladies,  both  native 
and  foreign.  All  diseases  ran  riot  in  their  shattered  constitutions. 
They  became  especially  incapacitated  to  resist  pulmonary  maladies. 
The  greatly  increased  prevalence  of  colds  and  consumption  is  doubt- 
less due  to  this  syphilitic  diathesis  rather  than  to  change  of  habit  as  to 
clothing,  although  the  latter  may  have  had  some  unfavorable  effect. -' 

It  is  not,  therefore,  to  any  unfavorable  conditions  of 
life  but  to  a  race  trait,  an  inordinate  amount  of  sexual 
immorality,  that  Mr.  Bishop  attributes  the  downward 
tendency  of  the  race,  "  a  race,"  he  adds,  "  well  worth  sav- 
ing. With  all  their  sad  frailities,  tliey  are  a  noble  race 
of  men  physically  and  morally.  They  are  manly, 
courageous,    enterprising,   cordial,  generous,    unselfish. 

^  "Oceano-Melamesians,"  p.  241. 

^"Foreign  Relations  of  the  United  States,"  Appendix  2,  1S94,  p. 
771. 


Race  Traits  and  Tc7idencies  of  the  A)ncrica?i  Negro.   323 

They  are  highly  receptive  of  good.  ...  In  an  unusual 
degree  they  possess  the  capacity  for  fine  ardent  enthusi- 
asm and  noble  ends.  Should  the  Hawaiian  people  leave 
no  posterity,  a  very  sweet,  generous,  interesting  race 
will  have  been  lost  to  the  world."  Lost  to  the  world, 
Mr.  Bishop  could  have  added,  in  spite  of  more  than 
seventy  years  of  missionary  and  educational  efforts,  and 
in  spite  of  the  possession  of  all  the  virtues,  it  would  seem, 
except  one, — the  absence  of  which  in  civilized  life  is  as 
fatal  as  in  the  life  of  the  native  who  inhabits  the  "Para- 
dise of  the  Pacific."  With  every  possible  chance  that 
improved  conditions  of  life  could  offer,  with  all  the 
churches  and  schools  that  were  needed,  with  willing 
hands  ready  to  help,  to  support,  to  save, — this  race, 
"sweet,  generous  and  interesting,"  has  in  the  short 
space  of  three  score  and  ten  years  been  reduced  to  less 
than  one-fourth  its  original  numbers. 

The  North  American  Indian,  has  been  at  times  a  very 
troublesome  factor  in  the  growth  of  the  American 
nation.  Years  of  strife  has  reduced  his  original  habita- 
tion to  a  few  limited  reservations,  most  of  which  are 
constantly  being  encroached  upon  by  the  aggressive 
white  population.  Few  races  have  made  such  a  brave 
struggle  for  their  own  preservation ;  few  races  can 
boast  of  so  high  a  degree  of  aboriginal  civilization.  If 
the  race  had  produced  nothing  better  than  the  "  League 
of  the  Iroquois,"  it  would  have  left  its  mark  in  indeli- 
ble imprints  on  the  history  of  the  human  race.  The 
race  made  a  brave  and  persistent  struggle,  but  all  to  no 
avail. 

Those  who  have  had  opportunity  to  study  the  original 
paintings  in  the  Catlin  gallery  of  Indian  portraits,^ 
must  have  been  struck  by  one  predominating  trait  in  the 

'Smithsonian  Institute,  Washington,  D.  C. 


324  Avierican  Eco7i07?iic  Association. 

Indian  countenance,  a  trait  met  with  in  nearly  every  in- 
stance, from  chiefs  ever  so  humble,  to  the  mightiest  whose 
fame  still  lingers.  An  iron  will  can  be  traced  upon  the 
countenance  of  nearly  everj-  Indian  of  note.  That  trait, 
a  race  trait,  is  still  met  with,  and  the  faces  of  Sitting  Bull, 
the  Sioux  chief  ;  Piah,  the  Ute  chief  ;  Tomasket,  the  Xez 
Perce  chief ;  Keokuk,  the  Sac  and  Fox  chief ;  White 
Bird,  the  Crow  Indian,^  still  show  the  inflexible,  unbend- 
ing nature  of  the  Indian  of  long  ago.  This  race  could 
never  be  permanently  enslaved,  it  could  never  be  brought 
to  accept  the  customs  and  ways  of  the  white  race.  More 
subtle  methods  and  power  were  necessary  to  civilize  it 
away.  Neither  the  poison  of  adulterated  whisky,  nor 
the  frightful  consequences  of  sexual  immorality,  spread 
around  the  forts  and  settlements  of  the  whites,  were 
sufficient.  The  most  subtle  agency  of  all,  governmen- 
tal pauperism,  the  highest  development  of  the  theory  of 
easy  conditions  of  life,  did  what  neither  drink  nor  the 
poisons  of  venereal  disease  could  do,  and  today  the  large 
majority  of  the  tribes  are  following  the  ^Maories  and  Ha- 
waiians  towards  the  goal  of  final  extinction.  There  are 
exceptions  and  it  is  in  the  exceptions  that  we  find  the 
most  emphatic  lessons — lessons  which  if  heeded  by  those 
remaining  will  alone  effectually  check  the  downward 
course  of  the  race. 

The  facts  on  which  the  following  table  is  based  have 
been  in  part  obtained  from  two  valuable  papers  on 
gynecic  notes  among  the  Indians,  contributed  by  Dr.  A. 
B.  Holden,  former  agency  physician,  to  the  Joitrnal  of 
Obstetrics!^-  and  in  part  from  the  reports  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Indian  affairs.  I  have  selected  the  two  years 
1882    and    1895    for   comparative    purposes,    since    the 

'Census  report  on  Indians,  Washington,  1890. 

^  American  Journal  of  Obstetrics,  June  and  Julj-,  1892. 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.  325 

former  year  covers  about  the  period  at  which  the  notes 
were  compiled  in  regard  to  the  prevailing  state  of 
morality  and  association  with  the  whites.  The  table 
shows  the  population  of  each  tribe  in  1882  and  1895, 
and  contains  a  statement  of  the  prevailing  degree  of 
chastity  and  prevalence  of  venereal  diseases. 

TRIBES  H.WING  LITTLE  OR  NO  INTERCOURSE  WITH  THE  WHITES. 

Population. 

Name  of  Tribe.                  1SS2.        1S95.  Remarks. 

Flatheads,  Montana  .  .      1,381     1,695  Adultery  rare;  uo  venereal  dis- 
eases. 

Cheyenne  Riv.,  Mont.     3,iSS     2,539  Chaste;  venereal  diseases  rare. 

Sioux  of  Devil's  Lake,  Chaste,  and  venereal  diseases 

Montana 933     1,021  rare. 

Klamath,  Oregon  .  .    .         707        982  Chaste;  venereal  diseases  rare. 

Total 6,209     6,237     Increase  in  population,  28. 


TRIBES  HAVING  COMMON  INTERCOURSE  WITH  THE  WHITES. 

Population. 
Name  of  Tribe.  1SS2.        1895.  Remarks. 

Gross   Ventre,   Mont.      950        624   Unchaste  ;   venereal  diseases  ex- 
cessively prevalent. 

Assiniboine  Sioux,   "        850        763  Unchaste  ;   venereal  diseases  ex- 
cessively prevalent. 

Crows,  Mont 3, 500     2,133  Without   chastity  ;   venereal  dis- 
eases excessively  prevalent. 

Assiniboine    of    Fort  Morals  ;     low    venereal    diseases 

Peck,  Mont  ....     1,300        716       prevalent. 

Yauktotnains,  Mont.  .  3,800     1,276  Morals  low;  V.  diseases  prevalent. 

Neah  Bay,  Wash.  .    .     1,019        754  Unchaste  ;    all   are   tainted    with 

syphilis. 

Round  Valley,  Cal  .    .       645        623  Chastity  unknown  ;  75  per  cent. 

affected  with  syphilis. 


Total 12,064    6,889  Decrease  in  population,  5,175. 


In  the  words  of  Dr.  Holden,  "  Venereal  diseases  pre- 
vail in  any  tribe  in  exactly  that  degree  in  which  men 
and  women  of  that  tribe  have  ceased  to  be  chaste  and 
faithful  in  wedlock.  "  And  further  :  "  Tribes  who  have 
been   isolated,  or  who  have  held  aloof  from  the   whites, 


326  Ajncrican  Economic  Association. 

retained  their  tribal  relations,  and  declared  for  non-inter- 
course, are  chaste  and  free  from  taint.  The  tribes  who 
have  opened  their  arms  to  receive  the  white  man,  or  who 
have  been  seduced  by  him,  have  been  debauched  and 
inoculated."  This  plain  and  emphatic  condemnation  of 
intercourse  between  unlike  races,  or  attempts  at  their 
amalgamation  in  violation  of  the  "  law  of  similarity,  " 
is  supported  by  the  table  before  us,  which  shows  that 
while  the  tribes  that  have  little  or  no  illicit  intercourse 
with  the  white  race  are  holding  their  own  or  making 
slight  gains  in  population,  those  that  have  "  opened  their 
arms  to  receive  the  white  man "  have  decreased  to 
nearly  one-half  their  number  during  the  short  period  of 
13  years.  Hence  the  decrease  in  the  Indian  population 
is  due  largely  to  the  rapid  decrease  among  certain  tribes 
while  others  are  holding  their  own  or  gaining  slowly 
year  by  year. 

These  instances  of  the  results  of  intimate  contact  of 
the  lower  races  with  those  of  a  much  higher  degree  of 
culture  and  morality,  will  suffice  to  show  the  preponder- 
ing  influence  of  race  in  the  struggle  for  life.  Given 
the  same  conditions  of  Jife  for  two  races,  the  one  of 
Aryan  descent  will  prove  the  superior,  solely  on  account 
of  its  ancient  inheritance  of  virtue  and  transmitted 
qualities  which  are  determining  factors  in  the  struggle 
for  race  supremacy.  The  lower  races,  even  under  the 
same  conditions  of  life  must  necessarily  fail  because  the 
vast  number  of  incapables  which  a  hard  struggle  for  life 
has  eliminated  from  the  ranks  of  the  wdiite  races,  are 
still  forming  the  large  body  of  the  lower  races.  Easy 
conditions  of  life  and  a  liberal  charity  are  among  the 
most  destructive  influences  affecting  the  lower  races  ; 
since  by  such  methods  the  weak  and  incapable  are  per- 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.  327 

mitted  to  increase  and  multiply,  while  the  struggle  of 
the  more  able  is  increased  in  severity. 

The  two  essential  virtues  of  modern  progress,  self  re- 
liance and  chastity,  have  not  been  the  result  of  easy  con- 
ditions of  life.  Self  reliance  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  is 
the  result  of  the  struggle  of  ages  rather  than  of 
book  education  or  missionary  efforts.  No  missionary  or 
educator  or  philanthropist  extended  aid  or  comfort  to 
the  English  peasant  class  during  its  darkest  days,  to  the 
earliest  settlers  on  the  coast  of  New  England,  or  the 
pioneer  in  the  forests  of  the  far  West.  History  is 
replete  with  instances  of  men  of  mark  emerging 
from  the  most  unfortunate  conditions  of  life ;  but  it  is 
extremely  rare  to  find  a  case  where  easy  conditions  of 
life  or  liberal  charity  have  assisted  man  in  his  upward 
struggle.  Self  reliance  in  man  and  chastity  in  woman  are 
qualities  that  must  be  developed,  and  thus  far  they  have 
not  been  developed  by  the  aid  of  charity  or  liberal 
philanthropy. 

A  study  of  the  race  traits  and  tendencies  of  the  negro 
in  America  makes  plain  the  failure  of  modern  education 
and  other  means  in  encouraging  or  permitting  the  de- 
velopment of  these  most  important  factors,  without 
which  no  race  has  ever  yet  been  able  to  gain  a  perma- 
nent civilization.  Easy  conditions  of  life,  a  liberal  con- 
struction of  the  doctrine  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins  and 
an  unwarranted  extension  of  the  principle  of  state  or 
private  interference  in  the  conduct  of  individual  life, 
have  never  yet  raised  a  race  or  individual  from  a  lower 
to  a  higher  plane.  On  the  contrary,  the  world's 
failures  are  largely  those  of  races  and  individuals 
in  whose  existence  the  struggle  for  a  higher  life 
had  practically  come  to  an  end.  "  For  carrying  on  the 
chief  objects  of  our  life  on  earth,  very  little  of  what  is 


328  Amcricaji  Economic  Association. 

now  called  civilization  is  really  wanted  ;  "  '  and,  unfor- 
tunately, it  is  just  the  useless  adjuncts  to  civilization  that 
the  lower  races  in  their  contact  with  the  higher  races 
first  acquire. 

The  downward  tendencies  of  the  colored  race,  there- 
fore, can  only  be  arrested  by  radical  and  far-reaching 
changes  in  their  moral  nature.  Instead  of  clamoring 
for  aid  and  assistance  from  the  white  race  the  negro 
himself  should  sternly  refuse  every  offer  of  direct  inter- 
ference in  his  own  evolution.  The  more  difficult  his 
upward  struggle,  the  more  enduring  will  be  the  quali- 
ties developed.  Most  of  all  there  must  be  a  more 
general  recognition  of  the  institution  of  monogamic 
marriage  and  unqualified  reprobation  of  those  who 
violate  the  law  of  sexual  morality.  Intercourse  with 
the  white  race  must  absolutely  cease  and  race  purity 
must  be  insisted  upon  in  marriage  as  well  as  outside  of 
it.  Together  with  a  higher  morality  will  come  a  greater 
degree  of  economic  efficiency,  and  the  predominating 
trait  of  the  white  race,  the  virtue  of  thrift,  will  follow 
as  a  natural  consequence  of  the  mastery  by  the  colored 
race  of  its  own  conditions  of  life.  The  compensation 
of  such  an  independent  struggle  will  be  a  race  of  people 
who  will  gain  a  place  among  civilized  mankind  and 
will  increase  and  multiply  instead  of  dying  out  with 
loathsome  diseases. 

The  day  is  not  far  distant  when,  in  the  words  of  Mr. 
Kidd,  "  The  last  thing  our  civilization  is  likely  to  per- 
manently tolerate  is  the  wasting  of  the  resources  of  the 
richest  regions  of  the  earth  through  the  lack  of  the 
elementary  qualities  of  social  efficiency  in  the  races 
possessing  them."  When  the  ever  increasing  white 
population  has  reached  a  stage  where  new  conquests  are 

'  Max  Mueller,  "  The  Savage." 


Race  Traits  and  Tendencies  of  the  American  Negro.   329 

necessary,  it  will  not  hesitate  to  make  war  npon  those 
races  who  prove  themselves  useless  factors  in  the  progress 
of  mankind.  A  race  may  be  interesting,  gentle  and  hos- 
pitable ;  but  if  it  is  not  a  useful  race  in  the  common  ac- 
ceptation of  that  term,  it  is  only  a  question  of  time  when 
a  downward  course  must  take  place.  All  the  facts  l^rought 
together  in  this  work  prove  that  the  colored  population 
is  gradually  parting  with  the  virtues  and  the  moderate  de- 
gree of  economic  cuiciency  developed  under  the  regime 
of  slavery.  All  the  facts  prove  that  a  low  standard  of 
sexual  morality  is  the  main  and  underlying  cause  of  the 
low  and  anti-social  condition  of  the  race  at  the  present 
time.  All  the  facts  prove  that  education,  philanthropy 
and  religion  have  failed  to  develop  a  higher  appreciation 
of  the  stern  and  uncompromising  virtues  of  the  x^ryan 
\,  race.  The  conclusion  is  warranted  that  it  is  merely 
\  a  question  of  time  when  the  actual  downward  course, 
\  that  is,  a  decrease  in  the  population,  will  take  place. 
1  In  the  meantime,  however,  the  presence  of  the  colored 
population  is  a  serious  hindrance  to  the  economic  pro- 
gress of  the  white  race. 

Instead  of  making  the  race  more  independent,  modern 
educational  and  philanthropic  efforts  have  succeeded  in 
making  it  even  more  dependent  on  the  wdiite  race  at  the 
present  time  than  it  was  jDrevious  to  emancipation.  It 
remains  to  be  seen  how  far  a  knowledge  of  the  facts 
about  its  own  diminishing  vitality,  lov/  state  of  morality 
and  economic  efficiency  will  stimulate  the  race  in  adopt- 
ing a  higher  standard.  Unless  a  change  takes  place,  a  . 
change  that  will  strike  at  the  fundamental  errors  that 
underlie  the  conduct  of  the  higher  races  towards  the 
lower,  gradual  extinction  is  only  a  question  of  time. 


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SOmMAIRH  I>U  N°  25— JUILLEX 

I.  L'E.SPRIT  DU  BUDGET  :  LES  IMpOTS  ET  LES  REVENUS.— Maurice  Block, 
de  I'Institut. 

II.  LES  CAISSES  DES  ECOLES  ET  LEUR  SITUATION  LEGALE.    Beurdeley, 
Maire  du  VIII«  Arr«. 

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DU  Capital  et  du  Travail.    A.  Neymarck. 

VIII.   VARIETES,  NOTES,  VOYAGES  ET  DOCUMENTS  : 

1°  n  y  a   Ttente  Ans :  V  Occupation  de  Francfort  par  les  Prussiens  in  iS66. 

A.  Raffalovich,  de  I'Institut. 
2°  P.-J.  Proudhon.  Ch.  de  Lariviere. 
3°  Souveraineti  du  Peuple  et  Gouvernement.    Th.  Ferneuil. 

IX.  REVUES  DES  PRINCIPALES  QUESTIONS  POLITIQUES  ET  SOCIALES : 
Revue  des  Questions  Agricoles.     D.  Zolla. 

X.  LA  VIE  POLITIQUE  ET  PARLEMENTAIRE  A  L'ETRANGER  : 
1°  Danemark.     Carstensen,  M"  du  Landsthing. 
2°  Italie.    L.  LuzzATTi,  M«  du  Pari'  Italien. 

XI.  LA  VIE  POLITIQUE  ET  PARLEMENTAIRE  EN  FRANCE  : 

1°  La  Politique  Exterienre  du  Mois.     Fr.  de  Pressensb. 
2°  Chronique  Politique  Intkrieure.     Felix  Roussel. 
3°  La   Vie  Parlementaire.    *  *  * 

XII.  CHRONOLOGIE  POLITIQUE  ETRANG^RE  ET  FRAN5AISE.    XXX. 

XIII.  BIBLIOGRAPHIE. 


Giornale  Degli  Economisti 

RIVISTA  MENSILE  DEGLI  INTERESSI  ITALIANI 

ROMA 

Via  Na2;ionale,  87 


Abbonamento  annuo  Italia:  L.  20,  Estero  L.  25  -  Numero  separato  L.  3 


Sommario  del  Fascicolo  del  1°  Luglio,    1896 

I.   La  situazione  del  mercato  monetario.      (X.) 

II.   La  base  agronomica  della  teoria  della  rendita  {Continua) . 
(G.  Valenti.) 

III.  I  dazi  fiscali  e  i  consumi.      (Aldo  Contento.) 

IV.  La  circolazione  in  Italia — Difetti  e  riiuedi.     (L.   Sbroja- 

vacca. ) 

V.  Previdenza:  La  questionedell'indebito  aggravioalleCasse 

di  risparmio  per  le  spese   di   vigilanza   portata   alia 
Camera.      (C.  Bottoni.) 

VI.  Cronaca:  Giustizia  italiana — II  di.scorso  del  sindaco   di 

Marsiglia— Dialoghi  morali.      (V.  Pareto.) 


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Contents  of  No.  XVI,  December,  1895. 


Tendencies  of  Thought  in  Modern  Judaism. 
David  Philipson. 
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pels.  Albert  Reville. 

The  Anabaptists.  W.  E.  Griffis. 

The  Pseudo-Athanasian  Augustiniaiii.sm. 

Levi  L.  Paine. 


Tito  Melema.  Julia  H.  Gulliver. 

Popular  Protestant  Controversy. 

C.  C.  Starbuck. 
Local  Cults  in  Homer. 

Arthur  Fairbanks. 
The  Nomadic  Ideal  in  the  Old  Testament. 
Karl  Budde. 


Contents  of  No.  XVII,  March,   1896. 


Octa\'ius  Brooks  Frothingham. 

Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson 
Miracles  and  Christian  Faith. 

John  E-  Russell 
Thomas  Henry  Huxley. 

John  W.  Chadwicx 
The  Religion  of  the  Manchu  Tartars. 

C.  de  H.^rlez 


Tendencies  in  Penology. 

Samuel  J.  Barrows. 
Paul's  Doctrine  of  the  Atonement. 

C.  C.  Everett. 
Leibnitz  and  Protestant  Theology. 

John  Watson. 
The  Preprophetic  Religion  of  Israel. 


C.  H.  Toy. 
Contents  of  No.  XVIII,  June,  1896. 

Cardinal  Manning,      St.  George  Mivart.  I  The  Minister  and  Social  Problems, 
International  Arbitration,  John  B.  Moore.  |  John  W.  Day. 

Limits  of  the  Doctrine  of  Evolution,  I  Las  Casas  and  Democracy, 

George  H.  Howison.  Charles  C.  Starbuck 

Matthew  Arnold's  Letters,     Milton  Reed.  |  Mr.  Balfour  and  his  Critics,      T.  R.  Slicer. 
New  England  Trinitariauism,  I  The  Will  to  Believe,  William  James. 


Levi  L.  Paine 


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